Al Farouq Aminu has wished his teammate Jusuf Nurkic speedy recovery after he suffered a leg injury in the Portland Trail Blazers’ 148-144 double-overtime victory against the Brooklyn Nets reports Completesports.com.
The win saw the Blazers clinch an NBA playoff spot.
Nurkic went up for a rebound in the second overtime of Tuesday’s NBA game before landing awkwardly and collapsing to the floor.
The Bosnia international was carried off on a stretcher as the arena fell silent and did not return.
Portland fans gave Nurkic who recorded 32 points, 16 rebounds, and five assists in the win over the Brooklyn Nets a standing ovation as he was taken back to the locker room.
“Praying for my bro and his family Insh allah you have a speedy recovery. #str8up,” Aminu wrote via his Instagram Page.
Aminu who played for 26 minutes, scored 16 points and three rebounds as the Portland Trail Blazers extended their winning streak to four games -their 43rd win of the NBA season.
His teammate, CJ McCollum who is also nursing an injury also wished Nurkic well: “It made me sick to my stomach,” McCollum told ESPN.
“I think he tried to tip it in, he crashed the glass and I saw him hit the ground and roll over real quick, and I thought maybe he got hit in the face or something again. As I was walking over there, I saw everybody else turn around real quick and walk away, and then I looked and saw his leg — and you just hate to see that happen to him.”
Damian Lillard also added: “You hate to see him have to go through something like that, having his best season in the NBA.
“We’re going down a crucial stretch in the season, trying to obviously secure our playoff spot, find our position and then have a postseason, so seeing something like that happen to him. You never want to see that for your friend or teammate, and then especially as a player, you don’t want to see anyone have to go through that.
“And it’s also going to be hard on our team. CJ’s already out, now him having a tough injury, so every way you look at it, it was a blow. It felt like it after the game.”
By Johnny Edward.
