INQUIRER Sports

MIAMI -- Shaquille O'Neal, whose Miami Heat are mired in a 14-game National Basketball Association losing streak, will be sidelined for at least two weeks, the National Basketball Association club announced.

An MRI scan found that the veteran centre has an acute inflammation in his left hip and quadriceps.

"Shaq" led the Heat to an NBA title in 2006 but the 11-time All-Star centre is averaging a career-low 14.2 points and 7.8 rebounds in 32 games this season as Miami's record has fallen to 8-32, second worst in the 30-team league.

O'Neal was forced to leave Miami's 97-90 loss to Cleveland to have his hip re-wrapped, the same hip that suffers from bursitis and sidelined him for eight games earlier in the season.

His once formidable speed diminished by the injury, the mighty O'Neal was playing his fourth game in six days as the Heat struggle to end the second-longest losing skid in club history.