Orlando Magic forward Aaron Gordon exited Wednesday’s 109-99 loss to the Toronto Raptors early in the third quarter because of left hamstring tightness, the team announced. He did not return.
Magic coach Steve Clifford said after the loss that the team didn’t yet know the severity of the injury.
“It would be a huge hit for us,” Clifford said, referring to possible upcoming games missed by Gordon, who entered the game averaging 14.5 points, 7.6 rebounds and 3.7 assists.
The injury occurred after a hard foul by Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry prevented a dunk and caused Gordon’s left leg to extend high as he was falling. After a review, Lowry’s foul was upgraded to a flagrant 1. Gordon and Lowry exchanged words during the review.
“It was definitely an out-of-place foul, I would say, man,” Magic forward Wes Iwundu said. “I don’t have no respect for that, honestly. You know AG is a competitor, and at the end of the day, he’s gonna react a little way. It’s a part of the game, but I just think it could have been handled a little different.
“Moving forward, man, we’ve got to protect each other. Everyone involved in the game has to protect each other, including whoever else might be in control of reffing the game or whatever. We’ve just got to make sure we’re protecting all players.”
Clifford called Lowry’s foul “a tough play” but said he didn’t want to comment further until watching the play on film.
“They’re obviously champions. Fouls are a part of basketball,” Magic guard Evan Fournier said. “Was it nice? No, but who cares? I mean, it was a foul. It was called flagrant one. There’s just not much to say.”
Courtesy: ESPN
