Spurs center Victor Wembanyama exited late in Wednesday night’s 134-132 win over the Knicks after his left knee buckled while he was battling for a rebound in the fourth quarter.
Wembanyama said afterward that he suffered a hyperextension and that initial testing did not reveal anything more serious. He added that further tests were scheduled for Thursday and expressed optimism about his availability going forward.
“I was confident,” Wembanyama said, via ESPN’s Michael C. Wright. “I was this close to coming back in the game. They had to hold me back. It was just a hyperextension, so it should be minimal. We’ve got to do everything tomorrow still to check that everything’s OK.”
He added that he expects to be available for the next game.
The injury occurred with 10:32 remaining, with San Antonio trailing 106-92, as Wembanyama fought under the basket with Karl-Anthony Towns and Jordan Clarkson.
Wembanyama immediately grabbed at his knee and was helped to his feet by teammate Stephon Castle before limping to the locker room under his own power.
As he left the floor, Wembanyama appeared to tell Castle that he was fine and offered a similar reassurance to the sellout crowd. He later returned to the bench wearing warmups with 1:22 left but did not re-enter the game.
Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said seeing Wembanyama on the bench late was encouraging.
“I haven’t talked to the medical staff yet, but I think I saw what everybody else saw,” Johnson said. “He finished the game on the bench with his teammates, and that made me feel good.”
Wembanyama finished with 31 points and 13 rebounds in 24 minutes.
The third-year center previously missed 12 games earlier this season with a left calf strain before returning on Dec. 13 in the NBA Cup semifinals against the Thunder.
He came off the bench in his first six games back and made his first start since the injury on Dec. 27 against the Jazz.
Entering Wednesday, Wembanyama was averaging 24.0 points, 11.7 rebounds, and 3.0 blocks per game.
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!
