Portland Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic is set for another spell on the sidelines after suffering a right wrist fracture on Thursday.
Nurkic left the Trail Blazers' 111-87 defeat to the Indiana Pacers in the third quarter after hurting his arm while swiping at Malcolm Brogdon.
The 26-year-old Bosnian suffered a broken leg in 2019 and spent over a year out, only returning in July last year after the season was suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Head coach Terry Stotts was planning to discuss whether Portland should bring in another big with general manager Neil Olshey on Friday, given Zach Collins is already out due to an Achilles problem.
"I did see [Nurkic] after the game. He had a splint on, so obviously very disappointing for him and for us," said Stotts.
"He had a long road back from his other injury, he had a rough start to the season, it looked like he was getting back on track and obviously this is a huge setback for both him and for us.
"I'm going to sit down with Neil tomorrow and we'll talk about what options we have.
"Most likely [Enes Kanter will start], but we'll evaluate that. Obviously, Harry Giles is going to get an opportunity to play and we'll figure out whether it's best to start him or bring him off the bench, but we'll see."
Nurkic averaged 9.8 points and 7.7 rebounds through 12 games this season. He had five points on 2-of-8 shooting and eight rebounds before leaving the game against the Pacers.
Damian Lillard called on his fellow Trail Blazers to rally together and fill the void that Nurkic's absence creates.
"We've got to show our love for him but also give him his space. It's hard to deal with when the game we love to play and is part of our lives every day is taken away abruptly," said Lillard.
"We're always going to be here for him. It's a tough thing. It comes with what we do and it can happen at any time.
"[He was] frustrated, disappointed, a little sad, like anyone would be in that situation.
"He plays a major part in our team and our success. Obviously you're not going to have one person turn into Nurk, it has to be by committee. In the past we've been able to count on guys to come in and fill those holes collectively and that's what we'll be looking at now."
CJ McCollum added: "It's terrible. He's a huge part of our team. Obviously he's been through a lot historically with injuries, so you never want to see it with anybody, especially him.
"It's tough. The season still goes on, it waits for no one, so we have to figure out a way to continue to move forward.
"Enes has been big for us in the past so will have to step up, Harry will have to play, some small ball, we'll do a lot of different stuff. It's an unfortunate part of the game but it's a challenge and I'm looking forward to seeing how we respond to it."
New Phoenix boss Budenholzer would coach Suns 'if it was on the moon'
Mike Budenholzer admitted he would coach the Phoenix Suns, even if the team "was on the moon".
The two-time NBA Coach of the Year, who guided the Milwaukee Bucks to the title in 2021, was named Frank Vogel's successor at Footprint Center last week.
Arizona-born Budenholzer returns to his hometown after taking the 2023-24 season out, having previously enjoyed five-year stints with the Bucks and Atlanta Hawks.
The 54-year-old has only missed out on the postseason once in his 10 previous NBA campaign, guiding his teams to six division titles and entering the playoffs as top seeds on four occasions.
Budenholzer now hopes to achieve something similar with the Suns, who endured a disappointing season under Vogel, which culminated in a 4-0 first-round series defeat by the Minnesota Timberwolves.
"It's mind-boggling to me, like mind-blowing, to think that I'm going to be the head coach of the Phoenix Suns," he told reporters during his introductory news conference.
"I'm excited about working with this roster and these players. We have great players and, with great players, comes great expectations. I think we embrace that.
"The biggest message I want you to hear is that I would coach this team if it was on the moon. I would coach this team if it was in Alaska, if these players were in Denmark. I would go anywhere to coach this team."
'We played harder' – Carlisle proud of Pacers' efforts after Indiana force Game 7
Rick Carlisle hailed the efforts of his Indiana Pacers players after they forced their playoff series with the New York Knicks to Game 7.
Carlisle challenged his players directly in the wake of their loss in Game 5, which put them 3-2 down in the series.
And the Pacers responded with a fine display in a 116-103 victory, which sees the series go down to the wire, with Game 7 set for Sunday at Madison Square Garden.
"It was just activity. We played harder tonight, which was a must," Carlisle said.
"We moved the ball better and we got more rebounds, and that's obviously a big key to the series.
"We gotta brace for Sunday. And we must be ready."
Tyrese Haliburton had 15 points and nine assists for the Pacers, and said: "Coaches challenged our effort, I think that was the biggest thing.
"We had some boneheaded things happen [in Game 5].
"He [Carlisle] just really challenged our group [players] 1-15 on how can we be better."
Jalen Brunson finished with 31 points for the Knicks, but he was not overly impressed by his own performance.
"They try to make things difficult," Brunson said. "And I have to adjust as well. Show me different looks and I have to do a better job of reading it."
NBA: Siakam leads Pacers past Knicks to force Game 7 in East semifinals
Pascal Siakam scored 25 points and Myles Turner added 17 as the Indiana Pacers rolled to a 116-103 victory over the New York Knicks to force Game 7 in the Eastern Conference semifinals on Friday.
Andrew Nembhard, Tyrese Haliburton and T.J. McConnell each added 15 points, with Nembhard grabbing six rebounds and handing out six assists. Haliburton had nine assists as the Pacers remained perfect in six home games in this postseason.
The winner of Game 7 in New York on Sunday will advance to face the top-seeded Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals.
Jalen Bruson scored 31 points on 11-of-26 shooting after missing his final 11 shots in the first half. Deuce McBride added 20 points with four 3-pointers as the Knicks fell to 0-3 on the road in this series.
Already decimated by injuries, the Knicks lost starting forward Josh Hart in the fourth quarter due to abdominal soreness.
Hart was seen holding his midsection multiple times during the game and asked to be taken out after he had five points and eight rebounds in 31 minutes.
New York is already without All-Star Julius Randle, OG Anunoby, Mitchell Robinson and Bojan Bogdanovic.
Indiana used a 14-6 run in the third quarter to take control, turning a 61-56 lead into a 75-62 advantage. The Pacers maintained at least a 10-point edge the rest of the way.
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