Howard has sprained left knee, iffy for Game 2
Houston Rockets center Dwight Howard suffered a sprained left knee Tuesday against the Golden State Warriors and is questionable for Game 2 of the Western Conference finals series Thursday night.
An MRI revealed the extent of the injury Wednesday.
Howard suffered the injury in the first quarter of Game 1, a 110-106 Rockets loss.
At the halfway point of the first quarter, Josh Smith crashed into Howard’s left leg after missing a shot attempt. Howard stayed face down on the floor for a few seconds and slowly got up, then was looked at by trainers during a timeout with 5:50 to play. He walked down the baseline, hopped up and down and bent both legs.
He then went into the tunnel to loosen up the leg after he was replaced by rookie Clint Capela. Howard returned to the bench area with about three minutes to play in the first quarter.
Howard did start the second half and played nearly nine minutes, going 0-for-2 from the field. However, it was clear he wasn’t himself; he didn’t have much lift and seemed to move around gingerly. He finished with seven points and 13 rebounds in 26 minutes.
Howard dealt with right knee issues during the course of the regular season and was absent for nearly 2½ months with swelling in the knee. In total, Howard missed 41 games, returning late in the regular season.
Information from ESPN.com’s Calvin Watkins was used in this report.
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