During Monday night’s game between the Portland Trail Blazers and Brooklyn Nets, Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic suffered a season-ending leg injury that was painful to watch.
One of those watching was Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade, who took to social media to offer his best wishes to Nurkic.
[xyz-ihs snippet=”HN-300×250-Image”]
Hate this part of the game. Prayers up for Nurkic!
— DWade (@DwyaneWade) March 26, 2019
The play in question took place late in the Trail Blazers’ 148-144 win over the Nets. Nurkic attempted to tip in a teammate’s missed shot, then landed awkwardly and caused his leg to bend between the knee and ankle. The end result turned out to be compound fractures to his left tibia and fibula, with Nurkic taken off the court by stretcher.
The victory for Portland clinched a playoff berth, a fact that was quickly forgotten after the game. Also forgotten was the strong game that Nurkic had delivered as he contributed a double-double with 32 points and 16 rebounds. In addition, he handed out five assists, swatted away four shots by the Nets and also collected two steals on the night.
While Wade has never come close to that type of gruesome injury, he knows very well what it’s like to come back from such issues. During his 16 seasons, he’s dealt with a variety of injuries, including a dislocated shoulder and knee trouble.
He came close to retiring a few years ago, but made some changes that have allowed him to close out his legendary career with his “One Last Dance” season.
Wade and the Heat are currently locked in a battle for the final playoff berth in the Eastern Conference. On Tuesday night, they face the Orlando Magic in an important battle with the team that’s currently one game behind the Heat for that eighth and final spot.
[xyz-ihs snippet=”HN-300×250-TextnImage”]
