The Golden State Warriors may have suffered a devastating blow to their chances of upsetting the Denver Nuggets when forward David Lee was forced to leave Saturday's game with a right hip flexor strain.
Lee, who had already put up 10 points and 14 rebounds in 29 minutes of play, came down awkwardly after attempting a layup and stayed down for a minute or two clutching his leg. He got up and hit one of two free throws, but could barely make it to half court. Lee will undergo an MRI today.
Warriors head coach Mark Jackson said the team must prepare to move on without him, as difficult as that may be. "It's unfortunate. He is certainly a highlighted guy for us, somebody we count on. At the same time, we believe in our guys, top to bottom. So we feel comfortable and confident with whoever has to step up in his place. We are, and will always be, a no-excuse basketball team."
On top of the injury to Lee, the Warriors lost Game 1 of the seven-game series in heart wrenching fashion. After Stephen Curry made a beautiful pump fake to free himself for a corner 3-pointer that tied the game with 14 seconds left, the Nuggets won on a buzzer-beating layup by sixth man Andre Miller.
Miller was a thorn in Golden State's side all game long, scoring 28 points on 11-of-16 shooting off the bench. 18 of those 28 points came in the fourth quarter.
Miller was the game's high scorer, and still found a way to dish out five assists. After the game Miller admitted that he'd never made a game-winning shot before. "I've taken a couple and missed or turned the ball over. But that was big for a first playoff game." Miller was so red-hot that Nuggets forward Corey Brewer said, "We were all looking at each other. Andre was hot, we were kind of like, 'Why don't we just get out of the way and let Andre have the ball."
Game 2 will be Tuesday at 10:30 p.m. in Denver.
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