The Miami Heat's blowout loss to the Boston Celtics on Monday came with a potentially longer-lasting effect: a possible injury to rookie forward Jaime Jaquez Jr.
Jaquez sat out the entire fourth quarter after recording nine points on 40 percent shooting in 22 minutes of action. His absence saw guards Patty Mills and Delon Wright receive more playing time in the final quarter.
“We’re going to find out. He’s tight in his upper leg. He wasn’t moving the way we like," Spoelstra said postgame. "We’ll know more tomorrow.”
The Heat were not the only ones with a crucial injury in Game 4, as Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis was injured in the second quarter. He was ruled out for the remainder of the game with a reported calf injury. There is optimism surrounding the situation for Porzingis, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, who reported, "early indications are that he hasn’t sustained an Achilles injury."
"Just my right hip. I felt something give at the beginning of the third quarter going up for a rebound," Jaquez shared. "I tried to give it everything I had. Just take it day by day.”
The Heat return to action at TD Garden on Wednesday night in a win-or-go-home situation, trailing 3-1 in the series.
Anthony Pasciolla works as a contributing writer to Inside the Heat. He can be reached at ampasciolla@gmail.com or follow him on Instagram @anthony.pasciolla.
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