Inadvertent elbow broke Evans’ nose

Warriors guard Jacob Evans III suffered a concussion and a broken nose in Tuesday night’s loss to the Mavericks, Golden State announced Thursday afternoon.

Evans went up for a defensive rebound midway through the second quarter and was inadvertently elbowed in the face by Dallas forward Dwight Powell. After lying on the floor for several minutes, he walked to the Warriors’ locker room with the help of team trainers.

Evans, 22, will enter the league’s concussion protocol. This has no timetable and requires players to successfully complete multiple workouts. When Evans returns, he will wear a protective mask until his nose has healed.

“Obviously concern for Jacob,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said. “He’ll be in the concussion protocol, and we’ll see exactly how long that means he’ll be out. Anytime there’s a concussion involved, your main concern is just overall wellbeing and health.

“It’s pretty serious stuff, so we’ll monitor that closely. Hopefully things go well.”

In 21 games this season, Evans has averaged 4.4 points on 30.8% shooting, 1.6 rebounds and 1 assist in 14.8 minutes. He got off to a strong start, only to suffer a hip injury in an Oct. 28 win over the Pelicans that sidelined him more than a month. After returning, Evans struggled to find an offensive rhythm, shooting 25.9% from the field in December.

Evans is under contract for next season and has a team option for 202122. With Evans out, Jordan Poole, Alec Burks and Ky Bowman could be in line for more playing time.

Center Marquese Chriss wore a mask in Thursday’s game against the Nuggets after breaking his nose in a Jan. 2 loss to Minnesota. Kerr said that center Kevon Looney — who has missed the past 12 games with a left abdominal strain — has progressed to oneonone drills, but the Warriors still don’t have a timetable for his return.