Nets’ Irving leaves Game 4 vs Bucks with ankle sprain

Kyrie Irving #11 of the Brooklyn Nets is injured during the first half of Game Four of the Eastern Conference second round playoff series against the Milwaukee Bucks at the Fiserv Forum on June 13, 2021 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Stacy Revere/Getty Images/AFP

Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving left in the second quarter of Sunday’s Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Milwaukee Bucks with a sprained right ankle.

The Nets ruled Irving out for the rest of the game, which Milwaukee went on to win, 107-96, leveling the series at two games apiece with Game 5 Tuesday night in Brooklyn. Nets coach Steve Nash later said that X-rays on Irving’s ankle came back negative.

Irving was injured with 6:04 remaining after converting a layup that got Brooklyn within 44-40. After scoring the basket, he landed awkwardly on the foot of Milwaukee forward Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Irving stayed down on the floor as play continued on the other end and the Nets were able to get a timeout to attend to him with 5:52 left in the half. After the timeout, Irving limped back to the locker room while putting a small amount of weight on his ankle.

Irving scored 11 points on 5 of 11 shooting in 17 minutes before getting hurt. In the first eight games of the postseason, Irving averaged 24.1 points on 47.4 percent shooting.

Irving is the second member of Brooklyn’s star trio to suffer an injury during the series. In Game 1, James Harden injured his right hamstring on a drive to the basket 43 seconds in and has missed the past three games with right hamstring tightness.

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