Los Angeles Clippers center Ivica Zubac will miss several weeks with a sprained left ankle, ESPN’s Shams Charania reports.
According to the report, Zubac was diagnosed with a grade two ankle sprain. The specific timetable for his return is unclear at this time.
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Zubac was injured late in the first quarter of Saturday’s 103-88 win over the Los Angeles Lakers at the Intuit Dome. Zubac took a shot from near the elbow, but it landed directly on the foot of LeBron James, sending him crashing to the court. When the game went the other way, Zubac remained on the ground and limped off the floor to the locker room. He didn’t come back.
Zubac played 11 minutes in the game and scored 5 points and 2 rebounds. The 28-year-old is averaging 15.6 points and 11.1 rebounds per game this season, his eighth season with the Clippers. Zubac has spent his entire career in Los Angeles after being selected by the Lakers in the second round of the 2016 draft.
The Clippers’ win on Sunday came as the team has been going through a very difficult stretch. They entered Tuesday’s game against the Houston Rockets with a 7-21 record and had won just three of their last 16 games. Kawhi Leonard scored a season-high 32 points in the win, but Lakers star Luka Doncic left the game early with a calf contusion. The Clippers’ victory was also their first at home since October 31st.
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Despite Saturday’s crosstown victory, the Clippers clearly still have a long way to go to get back on track this season. Losing a reliable center will only make it harder for the team to break out of its current slump.