Raptors rookie forward Scottie Barnes is officially out for Game 2 vs. the 76ers after being diagnosed with a left ankle sprain, coach Nick Nurse told reporters.
Barnes suffered the injury in Saturday’s 131-111 road loss to the 76ers in Game 1 of the first-round playoff series.
Barnes was forced to leave the game in the fourth quarter. Initial X-rays on the ankle came back negative. He was spotted wearing a walking boot on Monday.
“It’s tough, man,” Raptors forward Pascal Siakam said after Game 1. “Obviously, he works extremely hard, and he’s been playing awesome this season. And I know he was super excited about the playoffs and wanting to be there and play.
“So, yeah, man, we’ll see. But yeah, it’s definitely tough to see him go down. And I know that it’s hard for him, because he wanted to be out there with us.”
Barnes averaged 15.3 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists in 74 games during the regular season, and had 15 points, 10 boards and eight assists before exiting Game 1.
“I thought he was pretty good,” Nurse said. “I thought he was playing good. I thought he looked confident out there, was making good plays. Would have liked him to get a few more attempts at the rim or just shot attempts in general.
“Geez, he put up 15, he was getting to the free throw line, I thought he was cutting well, made some nice passes. I thought he looked like he belonged out there. For a young rookie in his first playoff game on the road against a really good team, I thought he looked like he belonged out there.”
Game 2 is scheduled for Monday at 7:30 p.m. ET, also in Philadelphia. TNT will televise.
Looking for the latest NBA Insider News & Rumors?
Be sure to follow Hoops Wire on TWITTER and FACEBOOK for breaking NBA News and Rumors for all 30 teams!
