NBA notebook: Thunder G Diallo avoids serious injury
(Field Level Media) Oklahoma City Thunder guard Hamidou Diallo was diagnosed with a sprained left ankle and will be reevaluated in seven to 10 days, the team announced Thursday.
The update was encouraging for the 20-year-old rookie, who left the Thunder’s 123-95 victory against the Golden State Warriors on a stretcher Wednesday after landing awkwardly on his lower left leg.
Diallo was in severe pain after sustaining the injury with 7:23 left in the contest. His teammates were trying to calm him down before he was wheeled off the court. Postgame X-rays were negative and ruled out a serious leg injury.
—Boston Celtics star Kyrie Irving apologized for comments about the Thanksgiving holiday, saying he was frustrated by his team’s latest loss and meant no disrespect.
“F—- Thanksgiving,” the guard told a reporter who wished him a happy holiday following Boston’s 117-109 home loss to the New York Knicks on Wednesday night. It was the Celtics’ third straight defeat.
Irving told NBC Sports Boston that his opposition to Thanksgiving stems from his Native American heritage. During the summer, he went through a naming ceremony with the Standing Rock Sioux tribe.
—Dallas Mavericks icon Dirk Nowitzki hopes to make his season debut in December.
Nowitzki has been recovering from surgery in April to remove bone spurs from his left ankle. He had expected to be ready for the start of the season but experienced a setback prior to training camp, but now the German can feel himself getting closer to being ready to go.
“It’s just hard when I haven’t done much for eight weeks and there’s a 40-year-old basically starting from scratch to try to get back in shape to play NBA minutes,” Nowitzki told reporters. “Hopefully soon. Hopefully, somewhere in December I’ll be ready and the body will respond the right way.”
—The agent for Philadelphia 76ers guard Markelle Fultz said he has not requested a trade.
“I have given no indication to (general manager) Elton Brand or anyone else that Markelle would prefer to be traded,” agent Raymond Brothers told ESPN. “My focus is to get Markelle healthy. End of story.”
Fultz, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, is expected to have his right shoulder examined by specialists in New York next week.