Miami Heat guard Victor Oladipo exited Thursday’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers in the fourth quarter with what appeared to be a right knee injury.
Oladipo — who was on a tear in his fourth game with the Heat since being acquired from Houston at the NBA trade deadline — seemed to stumble slightly before he jumped up for a two-handed dunk. Upon landing on his left foot, Oladipo immediately grabbed his right knee and limped back up the court before heading to the locker room. He did not return to the game, a 110-104 win.
Oladipo tallied 18 points, four rebounds, three steals, two assists and one block in 25 minutes before exiting the game with under six minutes left.
The Heat announced Friday the 28-year-old would not accompany the team on its upcoming west coast road trip and will be further evaluated.
Acquired at the deadline from the Rockets for Avery Bradley, Kelly Olynyk and 2022 first-round pick draft swap rights, Oladipo has averaged 12 points and 3.5 rebounds per game for Miami.
At 27-25, the Heat are tied for second in the Southeast Division, locked in a battle with first-place Charlotte (26-24) and Atlanta with postseason seeding on the line. Oladipo’s impact on the playoff chase is already apparent to his new teammates.
“We need that guy,” Jimmy Butler said.
There does seems to be some optimism in the locker room regarding Oladipo’s status.
“You never want to see one of your brothers go down,” Bam Adebayo said per the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. “I’m glad he’s OK, at the end of the day. We walked in and he was congratulating us on the win. So I feel like he’s OK. He just had a little scare.”