Denver Nuggets forward Danilo Gallinari left Monday night's loss to the Dallas Mavericks with an injury to his non-shooting hand after trying to block a shot and hitting the backboard, and it turns out that Gallinari fractured his left thumb. It's bad news for the Nuggets as they try to hang on to their playoff position in the Western Conference, because after the game Gallo noted that the doctor told him he could be out up to four weeks while the break heals:
"I don't know how long it's going to be. It's not going to be short. It's a fracture. The doctor told me the fracture takes four weeks to heal. Hopefully I can put something on and play sooner than that. "I tried to play through but it was getting worse second-by-second," he said. "I didn't know it was broken, but it hurt a lot. It's unbelievable, but got to keep going, keep thinking positive and make this push for the playoffs."
quotes via Benjamin Hochman of The Denver Post.
Gallinari is the team leader in points per game this season, but he has only played in 33 of 46 total games due to a foot fracture he suffered earlier in the season. So far this year he has averaged 15.2 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game, which are all above the three-year pro's career marks.
Andre Miller Update: The veteran point guard left the same game with a right shoulder bruise (on his 36th birthday, no less), but head coach George Karl told Hochman that "my gut says Andre will play (on Wednesday)."
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