Portland Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic fractured his right wrist Thursday night during a 111-87 loss to the Indiana Pacers.
Nurkic could be seen holding his wrist after sliding the ball into the third quarter and fell to the ground after contact under Indiana’s basket. In a dead time he went to the locker room and did not return.
The Trail Blazers did not immediately indicate how long Nurkic will be lost.
The 7-foot Bosnian center averaged 10.3 points and 7.6 rebounds per game.
Nurkic missed much of the first half of last season after breaking his left leg in a game in March 2019. He returned to the team to play bubble in Orlando, Florida, after the season is put on hold due to the coronavirus.
“He had a long way to go back from his other injury,” coach Terry Stotts said. “He had a tough start to the season, he looked like he was back on track. Obviously, that’s a big setback for him and for us.”
Stotts said Nurkic was on a splint after the match.
The Blazers were already without forward / center Zach Collins indefinitely after ankle surgery in late December.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.