The Portland Trailblazers were hit with the injury bug once again last night, as Nicolas Batum went down with an ugly-looking knee injury. An MRI will determine his fate. Per the Oregonian: “Fourth-quarter meltdown? Check. Head-scratching guard play? Check. Poor execution down the stretch that led to a loss on the road? Check and check. And, in fitting fashion for a franchise that has endured too many injuries to count in recent seasons, there even was a injury to a key rotation player. The Blazers fell 93-89 to the Utah Jazz as 19,328 watched a game Rip City has seen all too often this season. [...] The worst part for the Blazers is the long-term availability of reserve Nicolas Batum is in question. During one of the most important plays of the game, Batum drove the lane for a potential game-tying basket in the closing seconds only to twist his left knee and collapse to the ground. He immediately writhed around in pain on the arena floor and had to be helped to the visiting locker...
