The Portland Trail Blazers needed two periods of overtime to beat the Brooklyn Nets and secure a play-off place – but it came at a cost.
Starting centre Jusuf Nurkic had scored 32 points and claimed 16 rebounds in the 148-144 victory but suffered a leg injury in the second overtime period after landing awkwardly.
Nurkic was carried off on a stretcher and Blazers coach Terry Stotts confirmed after the game that the Bosnian had been taken to hospital.
We love you, @bosnianbeast27 ❤ pic.twitter.com/x7JRRtsR7I — Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) March 26, 2019
Damian Lillard added 31 points and 12 assists for the Trail Blazers, who ensured their sixth consecutive appearance in the post-season, while D'Angelo Russell scored 39 points for Brooklyn.
Devin Booker outscored the rest of his team-mates combined with a remarkable 59-point haul but could not prevent Phoenix Suns crashing to a 125-92 defeat at the hands of the Utah Jazz.
It was the second time Booker had scored at least 59 points in a game in his career, earning the 22-year-old a place among the sport's elite, while Rudy Gobert top-scored for play-off hopefuls the Jazz with 27 points.
22 years old yet among legends. #BeLegendary pic.twitter.com/f1alhVFO3v — Phoenix Suns (@Suns) March 26, 2019
The Orlando Magic sit half a game behind the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference after a 119-98 win over the Philadelphia 76ers, Nikola Vucevic scoring 28 points and adding 11 rebounds.
Elsewhere, the Memphis Grizzlies saw off the Oklahoma City Thunder 115-103, with Bruno Caboclo scoring a career-high 24 points.
ga('create', 'UA-72310761-1', 'auto', {'name': 'pacontentapi'});
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'referrer', location.origin);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension1', 'By Press Association Sport staff');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension2', 'dd614ce7-510c-4535-aa84-5e142c1896fd');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension3', 'paservice:sport,paservice:sport:world');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension6', 'story');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension7', 'composite');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension8', null);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension9', 'sport:basketball,sport:other');
ga('pacontentapi.send', 'pageview', { 'location': location.href, 'page': (location.pathname + location.search + location.hash), 'title': 'Portland clinch play-off spot but lose Nurkic to serious-looking injury'});
