Victor Oladipo will miss the remainder of the playoffs after the Miami Heat announced he tore the patellar tendon in his left knee in Saturday's 121-99 Game 3 win over the Milwaukee Bucks.
The Heat on Saturday claimed a surprise 2-1 lead in their first-round series against the Eastern Conference top seed, but the victory was soured by Oladipo's exit with 3:56 left in the fourth quarter.
Oladipo went down on a drive to the bucket following a foul from Bobby Portis, immediately clutching his left knee with an ominous look on his face, before being assisted off the court, sparking major fears for the injury-cursed guard.
"An MRI has revealed that Victor Oladipo suffered a torn patellar tendon in his left knee. He will miss the remainder of the postseason," the Heat announced on Sunday.
The blow comes after Oladipo only played 79 games across the previous three seasons due to a run of injuries.
Oladipo played 42 regular season games this season, averaging 10.7 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists.
He joins Heat shooting guard Tyler Herro on the sidelines after he broke his right hand in Game 1, ruling him out of the series.
Heat star Jimmy Butler had an injury scare in Game 3, sitting out the last quarter with a bruised glute, but head coach Erik Spoelstra declared he should be available for Game 4 in Miami on Monday.
Bronny James feels the love in Cleveland
Bronny James revelled in the "insane" reception he received from the Cleveland Cavaliers supporters in Wednesday's loss for the Los Angeles Lakers.
Bronny, son of LeBron, came on from the bench in the fourth quarter with the game all but decided in the Cavs favour.
The Lakers ultimately lost 134-110, though Bronny ensured it was a memorable defeat as he got his first NBA bucket.
LeBron is arguably the greatest player in Cavs history, and the home fans were chanting for Bronny to get a look-in from the bench from early in the second half.
"It was insane," Bronny said.
"Much more than I anticipated for sure. But it's all love. It was insane. It was a nice moment.
"The chants really got me. I was straight-faced, but I felt it and it felt really good, especially coming from here. It was a special moment for me for sure."
Of sinking his first points in the NBA, Bronny said: "I've been watching [my dad] for a minute playing in the league. Just dreaming of being in those players' steps, not only [LeBron's] but players he used to play against and with.
"So yeah, it was just a dream come true for me."
LeBron lauded his son's mental strength, suggesting he would not have been able to deal with such pressure when he was only 20.
"He's better than I would have been in that situation, 20,000 fans screaming my name to get in the game and wanting me to be in the game," said LeBron.
"If the role's reversed, I don't know if I would have been able to handle it. To see him get his first NBA basket in this arena where he grew up not too far away from here, it's an unbelievable moment.
"An unbelievable moment for him, first of all. For our family. It's just pretty cool to be a part of it."
LeBron dragged the Cavs to their first NBA Championship in 2016, and has fond memories of his two spells in Cleveland.
"We spent a lot of years here," LeBron said.
"We're part of this community, obviously. We were born not too far from here, 35 miles south of here, [our] hometown of Akron. And I spent 11 years of my NBA career – half of my career – here."
NBA: Cavaliers beat Lakers to move 5-0; Bronny James scores 1st NBA points
Evan Mobley scored 25 points, Donovan Mitchell added 24 and the Cleveland Cavaliers improved to 5-0 with a 134-110 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night in a game that included a special homecoming for LeBron James and his son, Bronny.
The win marks the first time the Cavs have started 5-0 since the 2016-17 season, led by LeBron, and the third time in franchise history.
In the final minutes, Bronny played for the second time as a pro and was inserted with 5:16 left. The younger James, who grew up in the arena, made a 14-foot jumper with 2:03 to play for his first NBA points.
Jarrett Allen added 20 points and 17 rebounds for Cleveland.
LeBron scored 26 and Anthony Davis had 22 and 13 rebounds for the Lakers, who were unable to cut into Cleveland's lead after falling behind by 23 in the first half.
Mitchell made back-to-back 3-pointers as the Cavaliers made four treys in a span of 1:45 in the first quarter to open a 19-point lead after one.
Towns’ big night powers Knicks
Karl-Anthony Towns had 44 points and 12 rebounds, Jalen Brunson scored 18 of his 22 points in the second half and the New York Knicks rallied to beat the Miami Heat 116-107.
Towns had the fourth-most points for the Knicks against the Heat. Jamal Crawford scored 52 in 2007, Carmelo Anthony had 50 at Miami in 2013 and RJ Barrett 46 in 2022.
Towns shot 17 of 24 from the field, 4 of 5 from long range and 24 of his 44 points in the first half to keep New York close.
Mikal Bridges added 17 points for New York, which trailed by 13 in the third quarter before flipping the game. OG Anunoby had 11 points and Josh Hart finished with 10 points, 14 rebounds and six assists.
Tyler Herro had 34 points for Miami, hitting eight 3-pointers. Terry Rozier scored 16 points, Jimmy Butler had 15, Bam Adebayo 11 and Nikola Jovic 10.
The Knicks ended the third quarter on a 30-10 run, turning a 70-57 deficit into an 87-80 lead.
Thunder down Spurs to remain perfect
Lu Dort scored 20 points, Chet Holmgren added 19 and the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the San Antonio Spurs 105-93to remain the only unbeaten team in the Western Conference.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 18 points, and Jalen Williams had 12 points, eight assists and seven rebounds for the Thunder. Oklahoma City has won all four of its games by at least 12 points.
Harrison Barnes scored 18 points, Jeremy Sochan had 17 points and nine rebounds, and Chris Paul added 14 points and nine assists for the Spurs.
San Antonio's Victor Wembanyama was held to six points on 1-for-5 shooting in his matchup with Holmgren, a fellow second-year big man. Wembanyama also had eight rebounds and three blocks.
Oklahoma City showed it can win even when Gilgeous-Alexander's shot is off. Gilgeous-Alexander, one of the league's top scorers with 28.7 points per game through his first three contests, made just 7 of 20 shots, including 2 of 10 from 3.
The Spurs cut Oklahoma City's lead to 82-75 in the fourth quarter before the Thunder went on a 9-2 run with Gilgeous-Alexander on the bench to regain control of the game. Rookie Ajay Mitchell scored five points during that stretch. The Thunder led 93-81 when Gilgeous-Alexander returned, and Oklahoma City was up 103-87 when he went to the bench for good with 2:46 remaining.
Raptors forward Barnes expected to miss at least three weeks
The Toronto Raptors will be without Scottie Barnes for at least three weeks after the All-Star forward suffered a right orbital fracture in Monday’s overtime loss to the Denver Nuggets.
Barnes had 21 points, 12 rebounds, nine assists and a career high-tying five steals Monday before exiting late in the fourth quarter after being hit in the eye by Nuggets star Nikola Jokic while fighting for a rebound.
Toronto signed the 2022 NBA Rookie of the Year to a five-year contract extension in July that could be worth up to $270million after he became a first-time All-Star last season.
Barnes set personal bests in 2023-24 with 19.9 points, 8.2 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 1.47 assists per game. He also shot a career-high 34.1 percent from 3-point range.
Toronto is off to a 1-3 start after going 25-57 last season.
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