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New York Knicks' Kristaps Porzingis suffers torn ACL in left knee

From NBA.com Staff

New York Knicks forward Kristaps Porzingis suffered a torn ACL in his left knee during Tuesday’s loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, the team announced.

The injury occurred when Porzingis landed awkwardly after a dunk in the second quarter. He immediately grabbed his left leg in pain and had to be helped off the court by teammates.

According to multiple reports, Porzingis is expected to miss the rest of the season. Al Iannazzone of Newsday reports the timetable for Porzingis’ surgery has yet to be announced:

Porzingis will undergo surgery in the near future. A timetable will be provided after that, but the rehab for this major of an injury could keep Porzingis out for the start of next season.

Every case is different, but over the last five years players who suffered torn ACLs were out from nine to 20 months.

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Porzingis needed help getting off the court and into the locker room, as he couldn’t put any pressure on it. After Porzingis was assisted off the floor, Knicks president Steve Mills and GM Scott Perry — wearing looks of grave concern — left their seats and made their way to the locker room.

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Earlier this season, Porzingis appeared to suffer a severe injury when he turned his right ankle in a game against the Heat. He also punched the floor and needed help to get to the locker room that night. Porzingis only missed two games.

But Porzingis has had issues with the left knee this season. He left a game in December against the Nets because of pain in the knee, and missed the next two contests. Two weeks ago, Porzingis sat out against the Warriors because of “left-knee irritation.”

In his third season, Porzingis was averaging 22.9 points, 6.7 rebounds and a league-high 2.4 blocks per game. The 7-foot-3 Latvian was chosen to his first All-Star game as a member of Team LeBron.

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