Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokić left their matchup with the Miami Heat early on Monday night with an apparent left knee injury.
Jokić stepped awkwardly and his left knee buckled while standing in the paint in the final seconds of the first half at the Kesaya Center on Monday. Teammate Spencer Jones stepped back on Jokić’s foot as he was trying to guard Jaime Jaquez Jr., and that’s when Jokić’s knee buckled.
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He instantly fell to the ground after the bad step and started rolling around in pain while grabbing his left knee while Kel’el Ware made an easy layup, which tied the game up at the break. Jokić eventually stood up and walked to the locker room on his own, but he was limping significantly and barely putting any weight on his left leg as he did so.
Jokić did not start the game in the second half, and the team initially said he was questionable to return with a left knee injury. Jokić, according to The Athletic’s Sam Amick, was then ruled out the rest of the way. Specifics of his injury are not yet known. He is expected to get further testing on his knee on Tuesday.
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Jokić finished the night with 21 points, eight assists and five rebounds. He shot 9-of-14 from the field in the first half, too. The three-time league MVP entered the contest averaging 29.2 points per game this season while leading the league with both 12.4 rebounds and 11.1 assists per contest.
The Nuggets came into Monday’s contest having lost three of their last five games, which dropped them to 22-9 on the season. The game marked the second of a seven-game road trip.
This post will be updated with more information shortly.
