(FILES) In this file photo taken on December 31, 2020 Kyrie Irving #11 of the Brooklyn Nets points during the second half against the Atlanta Hawks at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Photo by Sarah Stier / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP
Brooklyn guard Kyrie Irving left the Nets’ Tuesday game against the Chicago Bulls early in the third quarter with a facial contusion after a hard collision under the basket.
An X-ray was “inconclusive,” and he was scheduled to have another Wednesday morning, coach Steve Nash said.
With about 10 minutes remaining, Irving took a hard shot to the face from Chicago center Nikola Vucevic’s left elbow as both players jockeyed for a rebound off a missed 3-pointer by Blake Griffin. Irving was down on the sideline for a few minutes before walking to the locker room.
Before departing, Irving scored 13 points on 4 of 10 shooting in just over 20 minutes in the Nets’ 115-107 win.
Irving is averaging 27.2 points on 50.3 percent shooting in 52 games this season. In his first season with Brooklyn, 2019-20, Irving was limited to 20 games due to shoulder injuries and averaged 27.4 points.