Denver Nuggets center JaVale McGee, left, blocks a shot by Golden State Warriors forward David Lee, right, in the second quarter of Game 1 in the first round of the NBA basketball playoffs on Saturday, April 20, 2013, in Denver. AP Photo/Chris Schneider
DENVER – Golden State Warriors forward David Lee will miss the rest of the NBA playoffs with a torn right hip flexor, the team said on Sunday.
An MRI exam revealed the severity of the injury, which Lee suffered in the fourth quarter of Golden State’s heartbreaking 97-95 loss to the Denver Nuggets on Saturday in the first game of their best-of-seven Western Conference first-round series.
The 29-year-old Lee was fouled by Denver’s JaVale McGee less than 30 seconds into the fourth quarter and landed hard on his right hip.
He stayed in the game, making one of two free throws, but then grabbed his hip and had to be helped to the bench.
The Warriors will try to bounce back without him when they take on the Nuggets in game two of the series on Tuesday.