LeBron James hurts knee in the game against Atlanta Hawks; Listed as day-to-day: NBA Update
LeBron James made all the clutch plays against the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night, leading Miami Heat to a 95-89 win. But in the process, the reigning NBA MVP hurt his right knee.
With nearly 30 seconds remaining in the first half, LeBron bumped knees with Hawks’ power forward Josh Smith in an attempt to gather the loose ball, before stumbling out of bounds to run into a photographer. James had a severe
limp as he walked back into the locker room and it was expected that he would take no further part in the game. He however came back and marshalled his team with a near triple-double at 21 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists. James also hit a clutch jumper
with 13 seconds remaining which gave Miami a four point lead, and pretty much sealed the matter.
LeBron had both the knees wrapped in ice post game and accepted that there was some soreness in his knees;
"It bothered me a little bit, but it is what it is," James said. "It's a little sore right now. It's never a good feeling.”
Erik Spoelstra, the Miami Heat coach, who already had Dwyane Wade out of the game with a cold, admitted later on that he was concerned once he saw James limping.
"Yeah, I was concerned," Spoelstra said. "Anytime he goes down and comes up limping like that, it concerns me. But he has an unusually quick way of healing."
Spoelstra also revealed that he was not sure if James would return to the game. However as far as the player was concerned the thought of not returning never crossed his mind;
"It hurt at the time, but I knew I would get through it," James said. "I know it's just like a little stinger. One thing about me: If I get injured, it's going to take a lot for me to not go back out there with my teammates."
With James playing 36 minutes only, Chris Bosh and Ray Allen picked up the slack with 24 and 17 points respectively, propelling Miami to a 5-1 record in the season. The defending champions will now play the Memphis Grizzlies on
Sunday, before taking on the Houston Rockets on Monday.
LeBron’s status for these games is still shaky. He is expected to undergo another check up on Saturday, and as of now he is day-to-day.
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