Houston Rockets star Christian Wood, who receives this All-Star consideration this season, left Thursday’s game in Memphis after rolling the same right ankle that caused him to miss three games in January.
Wood was fouled in a transition play by Grizzlies guard Ja Morant and, as he came down, hit the ground in agony. After standing still for much of the timeout, Wood initially tried to stay in the game to throw free throws, as not shooting him would disqualify him. But Wood’s teammates told him about the idea and he headed for the tunnel, where a wheelchair was waiting for him.
In 20 minutes against the Grizzlies, Wood scored 17 points (70% FG) and 7 rebounds, when Houston took the lead by 21 points at the time of his departure. For the 2020-21 season, the 25-year-old entered Thursday with an average of 22.3 points (55.3% FG) and 10.4 rebounds in 31.9 minutes per game, including 39 , 7% in triples. They are all top professionals.
Wood’s injury comes at a terrible time for the growing Rockets (10-10), who came in on Thursday with wins in six of their last seven games.
Houston’s next game comes home Saturday against San Antonio. Given that Wood retired and appeared to be aggravating a previous injury, it would be a surprise if he could return quickly. “I don’t know,” Silas said after the game. “It didn’t look very good.”