After Kyrie Irving "broke" the ankles of Milwaukee Bucks forward Thanasis Antetokounmpo with an incredible crossover move in the first quarter of Sunday's Game 4, the Brooklyn Nets star suffered an unfortunate ankle injury of his own.
Irving landed awkwardly on a layup in the second quarter and was ruled out for the rest of Game 4 with a right ankle sprain, according to The Athletic's Shams Charania.
Kyrie Irving is OUT for rest of Nets-Bucks Game 4 with right ankle sprain.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 13, 2021
He lay on the ground for several moments until Nets team trainers helped him off the court.
Kyrie Irving goes down hard after the lay-up, grabs his right leg.
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) June 13, 2021
Hope it's nothing serious pic.twitter.com/Nb47vIsIYb
The 29-year-old left the game with 11 points on 5-of-11 shooting from the field.
Irving's injury is a harsh blow to a Brooklyn team that is already with superstar James Harden, who has been out since Game 1 with right hamstring tightness. Nets head coach Steve Nash said before Game 4 that Harden was "progressing" but has a "gap to make up" before he returns to the court. It's unclear if he'll be ready for Game 5.
It's also uncertain how severe Irving's ankle injury is.
Irving has been one of Brooklyn's best players this postseason. Entering Sunday's contest, he was averaging 24.1 points, 5.9 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game while shooting 47.4% from the field and 36.5% from deep.
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