The LA Clippers appeared to dodge another bullet on Thursday night when it comes to the injury bug that's hit the NBA to start this season. Guard Austin Rivers drove to the basket and elevated for the potential game-winner with just six seconds remaining before landing on the court with the whistle blown.
What looked like a normal blocking foul was later ruled a charge, but more importantly, what seemed like a normal landing for Rivers saw what was later called a dislocated right pinkie finger. He would've been able to stay in the game once Clippers head athletic trainer Jasen Powell put it back in it's place, mostly due to the fact that he may have needed to shoot a pair of potentially game-winning free throws. Once the officials changed the call to an offensive foul on Rivers, the Clippers held him out, and came away with the victory following a miraculous, clutch three-point shot by Blake Griffin at the buzzer.
After the game, Rivers spoke to members of the media where he detailed the freak injury and the even freakier figure his finger took that had him shocked.
“It took him (Powell) a while because it was a weird dislocation” said Rivers following his 16-point performance. “They said it wasn't like a typical one, it was to the side and then on top of my bone, so it was like a staircase, kind of. They just X-rayed it, they said it's just yucky.”
Rivers had a solid game for LA and hit a huge three-pointer late in the fourth quarter to keep the game close. After Rivers went down, it seemed like the young guard took a few seconds to realize that his finger wasn't where it was supposed to be.
“I didn't know what the hell was going on,” added Rivers, who made his second straight start of the young season. “I started clapping my hands and I felt something painful, so I looked at my hand and started screaming. I just started screaming. You look at your finger like that, but who am I to complain after some of things we've seen early on in the season and some of the guys that have gotten hurt. That's nothing.”
Heading into Saturday night's home matchup against the Detroit Pistons, Rivers is not listed on the injury report and looks to be set for another big workload as the team's starting shooting guard.
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