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MRI reveals torn ligament in left knee of Knicks' Kristaps Porzingis
An MRI on New York Knicks star Kristaps Porzingis revealed he tore the ACL in his left knee in Tuesday's 103-89 home loss to Milwaukee, the team announced.
The injury occurred three minutes into the second quarter when Porzingis landed on Giannis Antetokounmpo's foot after converting a dunk. His left ankle seemed to buckle on the play. Porzingis immediately grabbed his left knee after landing and was clearly in pain. Porzingis needed to be helped off of the floor by two teammates, and he wasn't putting much weight on his left leg.
"More than a basketball player, he's my brother,'' Knicks center Enes Kanter said. "I don't want to see anyone going down like that hurting his knee. He's about to be an All-Star. I'm just going to pray for him tonight. He is the most important part of our family.''
Porzingis entered play Tuesday averaging a team-leading 22.9 points per game and an NBA-high 2.4 blocks per game.
He previously missed two games due to a left knee issue and two games due to an ankle injury. In all, he has missed seven games this season and 33 over the course of his first two-and-a-half seasons in the NBA.
New York (23-31) entered play Tuesday remaining hopeful of making a playoff run, though missing Porzingis for extended time would certainly dampen those hopes.
The Knicks entered their game against the Bucks four games out of eighth place in the Eastern Conference, having lost 10 of 14.
The injury occurred three minutes into the second quarter when Porzingis landed on Giannis Antetokounmpo's foot after converting a dunk. His left ankle seemed to buckle on the play. Porzingis immediately grabbed his left knee after landing and was clearly in pain. Porzingis needed to be helped off of the floor by two teammates, and he wasn't putting much weight on his left leg.
"More than a basketball player, he's my brother,'' Knicks center Enes Kanter said. "I don't want to see anyone going down like that hurting his knee. He's about to be an All-Star. I'm just going to pray for him tonight. He is the most important part of our family.''
Porzingis entered play Tuesday averaging a team-leading 22.9 points per game and an NBA-high 2.4 blocks per game.
He previously missed two games due to a left knee issue and two games due to an ankle injury. In all, he has missed seven games this season and 33 over the course of his first two-and-a-half seasons in the NBA.
New York (23-31) entered play Tuesday remaining hopeful of making a playoff run, though missing Porzingis for extended time would certainly dampen those hopes.
The Knicks entered their game against the Bucks four games out of eighth place in the Eastern Conference, having lost 10 of 14.