Clippers’ Griffin to miss ‘up to eight weeks’

Blake Griffin #32 of the LA Clippers grabs a rebound from Larry Nance Jr. #7 of the Los Angeles Lakers during the first half at Staples Center on November 27, 2017, in Los Angeles, California. AFP

LOS ANGELES, United States — Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin has a sprained left knee ligament that could see him sidelined for up to eight weeks, the NBA team said Tuesday.

Griffin was hurt in the fourth quarter of the Clippers’ 120-115 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday.

He and teammate Austin Rivers were both scrambling for a loose ball lost by Lakers guard Lonzo Ball.

Ball, trying to retrieve the basketball, ran into Griffin before Rivers fell onto his teammate’s knee.

As his leg twisted, Griffin hit the court in obvious pain. He played about a minute longer before departing the contest.

“You could see right when it happened,” Clippers coach Doc Rivers said after the game. “I was yelling right away. Lonzo was just trying to make a play, but usually when you go in that hard, they call it (a foul). But I think Lonzo knocked Austin into Blake and it was a trigger effect.”

A statement posted by the Clippers on Twitter said an MRI exam showed Griffin had a medial collateral ligament sprain, “with no other structural damage.”

“Recovery for this injury can take up to 8wks,” the team said. /cbb