The Los Angeles Clippers NBA playoff run took a giant hit on Tuesday (Wednesday AEST) after learning All-Star guard Chris Paul will be sidelined for at least four weeks and power forward Blake Griffin is done for the rest of the season due to injuries.
Paul underwent surgery on Tuesday to repair a broken bone (a third metacarpal fracture) in his right hand, suffered in Monday's 98-84 game four loss to the Portland Trail Blazers that levelled their Western Conference first round series at 2-2.
The heart and soul of the Clippers, Paul got his hand caught in the back of Gerald Henderson's jersey midway through the fourth quarter while trying to swipe the ball away on a drive to the basket.
"Major, major blow," said Paul's teammate Jamal Crawford. "I just feel bad for him personally, because I know how much he puts into the game and how much he gives himself for the team." Paul will have the hand re-evaluated in four to six weeks.
Griffin, who missed 41 games this year with a partially torn left quad tendon, re-injured it and his season is finished.
The five-time NBA All Star felt a tweak in the quad while getting fouled in the third quarter by Mason Plumlee. After going to the changing room for treatment and trying to return to the court, Griffin watched the final 5:48 from the bench.
A scan performed on Griffin on Tuesday revealed no structural damage.
Clippers coach Doc Rivers lamented the devastating losses. It's the third time in a row injuries have derailed his teams' playoff chances.
"I don't know, it's bum's luck three years in a row. What can you do?" he asked. "All you can do is you've just got to keep going.
"Obviously, this is one of the worst of all of them, by far, basketball-wise."
But Rivers still believes his snake-bitten squad can move forward.
"I got down for like five minutes, and I was last night, but you wake up in the morning and you feel like we're going to find a way," he explained. "It's my job to try and get them to feel like I feel. If we do that, I think we'll have a fighting chance.
"There's nobody probably in the league that's going to replace Chris Paul ... but as a group, everybody pitches in."
The Clippers host a pivotal game five on Wednesday in the best-of-seven series.
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