Pacers’ Ivica Zubac to miss rest of season with fractured rib

The Pacers took another hit Wednesday night.

Center Ivica Zubac has been diagnosed with a fractured rib and will miss the rest of the season, per Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star. The injury surfaced after Indiana’s loss to Portland, though it’s unclear exactly when it occurred.

Zubac exited that game early following an elbow from Donovan Clingan, initially dealing with a head contusion. The rib issue came later.

That’s the tough part, as Zubac had just started to get going after arriving from the Clippers at the trade deadline. He played only five games with Indiana, averaging 11.6 points and 7.2 rebounds, and never saw a win in that stretch.

The bigger picture remains unchanged. The Pacers acquired Zubac with an eye on next season, pairing him with Tyrese Haliburton once healthy.