The Clippers can let out a sigh of relief.
Los Angeles forward Blake Griffin has been diagnosed with a sprained MCL in his left knee and is expected to miss some time, NBA Insider David Aldridge reported.
Despite the diagnosis, the team is relieved the injury was not more severe.
Still, according to ESPN, which cited unidentified NBA sources, the five-time All-Star could miss up to two months.
Griffin suffered the injury in the fourth quarter of a 120-115 victory over the Lakers when he became entangled with Lakers guard Lonzo Ball and Clippers guard Austin Rivers.
"It didn’t look good obviously, but we just have to wait and see," Doc Rivers said (via the Los Angeles Times). "Lonzo was just trying to make a play. Lonzo knocked somebody into Blake. And there was a trigger effect. What can you say?"
No foul was called on the collision during a scrum for a loose ball with 4:43 to play.
"You could see right when it happened," Doc Rivers said. "Lonzo was just trying to make a play, but he went in. Usually when you go in like that, that hard … they call it."
Griffin remained in the game for one possession, missing a shot, then checked out and headed to the locker room.
After the game, he left without speaking to reporters but wasn't on crutches, according to multiple reports.
“He’s not in high spirits. He’s down,” Doc Rivers said. “Right now he’s where we are at, hoping it was just a bang and that it hurt and that he’ll be all right.”
Griffin has been dogged by injuries throughout his eight-year NBA career, having played in 67, 35 and 61 games the past three seasons. Yet the Clippers signed him to a new five-year, $173 million contract during this offseason.
The Clippers' next game is Thursday against the Jazz in L.A.
