Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving exits Game 4 with right ankle injury, X-rays negative

Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving exits Game 4 with right ankle injury, X-rays negative
The Brooklyn Nets first lost James Harden 47 seconds into their Eastern Conference semifinal series with the Milwaukee Bucks. Now, after the Bucks evened the series at two games apiece with a 107-96 victory at Milwaukee's Fiserv Forum on Sunday afternoon, the Nets head back to New York for Game 5 on Tuesday facing the possibility of playing the biggest game of their season without two of their three superstars.

Kyrie Irving was unable to return to Sunday's contest with a sprained right ankle. After Irving made a layup midway through the second quarter, he landed on Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo's foot. Irving's right foot bent significantly and he immediately appeared to be in considerable pain. He stayed on the court for several minutes before eventually getting to his feet and walking back to the visiting locker room without assistance but with a pronounced limp.

Brooklyn ruled Irving out for the rest of the game just before the start of the second half. Nets coach Steve Nash said after the game that X-rays on Irving's ankle were negative. Irving left the building using crutches and with his ankle in a walking boot, sources told ESPN's Rachel Nichols.

"I have no idea what is going to happen with [Irving] in the coming days," Nash said. "We will cross our fingers and hope that it is better than I don't know -- better than what -- better than missing the next game?

"We all have to pitch in. We all got to play together."

When interviewed on the court by Nichols after the game, Antetokounmpo said that he wasn't even aware of what Irving hurt when he initially hit the floor.

"I really don't know," Antetokounmpo said, when asked what happened from his perspective on the play. "I thought he got hit in the groin at first. When I went back to the locker room, they said that he sprained his ankle. I wish him a quick recovery, and hopefully he can be ready for Game 5. Wish him nothing but the best, but we have to keep focusing on ourselves, keep focusing on the task at hand, keep having fun and try to win games."

Over the next two days, an already intense focus on Brooklyn's injury situation, with Harden recovering from right hamstring tightness -- the same hamstring injury that kept him out for several weeks late in the regular season -- in the opening moments of Game 1 in Brooklyn will intensify if Irving is on the shelf, as well.

Before Sunday's game, Nash -- who had said multiple times in recent days that Harden has been "progressing," offered more specifics, saying that he's doing on-court work, including shooting, and still working through his rehabilitation. Nash said that while Harden was progressing toward a return, he didn't have all the details of the exact work Harden is able to do.

When asked Sunday about the potential for Harden to return in Game 5 with the possibility of Irving missing the contest, Nash said that any decision regarding Harden's availability would be made independently of Irving.

"I don't want James to be rushed back," Nash said. "If he's able to play next game, or the game after, that's fantastic. If he's not, we don't want to rush him back and jeopardize doing something worse or making this a long-term injury."

After the Nets dictated the first two games in Brooklyn -- even with Harden sidelined for virtually both of them -- this series is in an entirely different place after the Bucks held serve and won both games in Milwaukee, squeaking out a victory in a defensive slugfest Thursday night in Game 3 before the Bucks finally saw their offense come alive in Game 4.

Milwaukee started to see its perimeter shots fall in Game 4, converting 16-for-47 from 3-point range in the victory. And while the 34% conversion rate from deep wasn't anything special, it was a vast improvement from the 24.7% clip (22-for-89) that the Bucks shot through the first three games of the series.

And with the possibility of both Harden and Irving being sidelined, Milwaukee will be able to direct even more attention toward Brooklyn's remaining superstar, Kevin Durant, who had 28 points in Sunday's loss but went 9-for-25 from the field and shot a combined 20-for-53 in the Nets' two losses in Milwaukee to even the series.

Nash took exception with some of the defense Brooklyn played against Durant -- specifically the effort displayed by Durant's longtime friend and fellow Texas Longhorn P.J. Tucker. Nash said it bordered on "non-basketball" physicality with his aggressive defense the past two games.

"He's playing extremely physical and made it difficult," Nash said. "That's his role on their team and I thought it was borderline non-basketball physical at times, but that's the playoffs. You have to adapt and adjust. Something definitely in a sense changed from the way the game was played in Brooklyn and here in Milwaukee."

For his part, Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer scoffed at the idea that Tucker was doing anything out of line with his play.

"He's just guarding him," Budenholzer said. "If that's not basketball, I don't know what is. So, I think we've got to just keep the same mindset, to guard him, to make everything tough, so nothing changes."

While nothing may change with the approach to guarding Durant, obviously everything changes for the Nets as they will wait to see what the prognosis on both of their injured stars. Bucks guard Pat Connaughton, however, said that Milwaukee can ill-afford to overlook the rest of Brooklyn's roster -- much of which played a part in dismantling the Bucks in the first two games of this series.

"We actually said it doesn't matter who is out there," Connaughton said. "We want to make sure we continue to play our type of game. Obviously James went down in Game 1, Kyrie went down at one point today, but they have a lot of talented individuals and a lot of talent as a collective unit on that team.

"For us, it's about continuing to focus on our brand of basketball. The toughness on the defensive end, the things we instill in ourselves and in each other, and the ball movement, player movement that we have on the offensive end. I think that is the most important thing as we continue to move forward."

Still, it was clear the Nets were -- understandably -- impacted by Irving's departure from the game. While Brooklyn opened the game 6-for-14 from 3-point range, the Nets were just 4-for-19 after Irving's injury and committed 10 turnovers over the final 30 minutes of action.

"We missed him, obviously," Nash said. "It was a big adjustment tonight to play without him and James, but we've had that type of year. So, we have to find a way to figure it out, to look at the tape and get better."

Utah Jazz star guard Donovan Mitchell exited Saturday's 132-106 Game 3 loss to the LA Clippers because of pain in his right ankle, but the decision for him not to return was due to the lopsided score.

"I feel like I was able to go back, but no need to risk it down 16, 18 at that point," Mitchell said. "I'll be fine."

A right ankle sprain sidelined Mitchell for the final 16 games of the regular season and the Jazz's playoff opener, when he was angered by the Utah medical staff's decision to make him a late scratch.

Mitchell has averaged 32.3 points per game during the playoffs, including 30 points on 11-of-24 shooting in Game 3, despite dealing with persistent pain in the ankle.

"It's when I land," Mitchell said. "It's been just trying to manage it. I don't really know what else to tell you; I don't want to say too much. It was just the landing, but I'm good. I'll be ready for Game 4."

Mitchell limped off the court after a driving layup attempt with 7 minutes, 5 seconds remaining. He briefly went into the tunnel before returning to the Jazz bench.

With the game slipping away from the Jazz, Mitchell had a conversation with coach Quin Snyder. He did not return to the game, although the Utah medical staff had cleared him to return.

"He's in good shape," Snyder said. "He could have gone back in the game, but at that point, the lead had stretched. In fact, while we were talking, I think Kawhi hit a 3. That was my decision not to put him back in at that point. The game had gotten away from us at that point, but he's fine."

In the final moments of the game, Mitchell sat on the bench with his right shoe off and ice on the ankle.

"Obviously, it's not going to be 100 percent, but you go out there and you try to compete," Mitchell said. "Things like this are going to happen. You just got to find ways to manage it and get out there and get ready. It's not going to be perfect, but it is what it is."

LOS ANGELES -- Paul George used a cross-over dribble to move to his left before drilling a rainbow step-back 3-pointer over Royce O'Neale and letting out a scream.

After hearing Jazz fans chant "overrated" at him for two games in Utah, an aggressive George had his best game of the playoffs, scoring 20 of his 31 points in the first half to set a much-needed tone for the LA Clippers on Saturday night. Kawhi Leonard then scored 24 of his 34 points in the second half to help the Clippers rout the Utah Jazz, 132-106, and get their first win of this Western Conference semifinal series.

George's first 30-point game since April 23 came when the Clippers needed it to keep their title hopes alive. The Clippers now can even the series at 2-2 with a win at home Monday night in Game 4.

George found his rhythm and got hot, burying 6 of 10 3-pointers, four coming in the first half while playing with even more confidence on his home floor. After he hit the step-back 3 over O'Neale, George buried a 32-foot 3 and held his follow-through pose with confidence as the Clippers opened a 57-41 lead with 2:54 remaining in the first half. The Jazz never got any closer than eight in the third quarter.

"Oh, we're a different team," Clippers coach Ty Lue said of when George has his offense going early. "We know that. It's been like that all season long. He's been great. You know, he had one bad game, whatever, but people are going to have bad games."

George scored 20 points in Game 1 but Utah fans badgered him whenever they could as he shot 4-for-17 in Game 1. In Game 2, George scored 27 points and shot 8-for-18, but Jazz fans love taunting him dating back to when George was with Oklahoma City and the Thunder played Utah in the 2018 playoffs. George also has seen his fair share of Joe Ingles defending him, as the two have had their back-and-forth.

When asked what his relationship is with Ingles, George said, "I don't care about him. Next question."

For the Clippers, there is no question how good they can be when George and Leonard shift their games to another level like they did on Saturday. Not only did they combine to make 26 of 48 shots but they also took the challenge of slowing down Donovan Mitchell.

While Mitchell finished with 30 points before tweaking his sore right ankle, he was held scoreless for the first 16 minutes and 26 seconds of the game. After contesting 71% of his field goal attempts in the first two Jazz wins, the Clippers contested all but one of Mitchell's 24 shots in Game 3, according