Boston – Evan Turner suffered a left-eye injury in the last seconds of Boston’s 107-100 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday. L.A.’s Julius Randle suddenly poked him in the eye while fighting for a rebound under the basket, CBS reported. Turner was expected to be reevaluated on Monday for the costly injury.
The Celtics’ player grabbed the left side of his face right away and rushed to the Boston locker room. Brad Stevens, Celtics head coach, told reporters that Turner was bleeding but was not aware of the injury’s extent.
According to Twitter reports by several journalists, Turner appeared with a redness around his left eye after the game when he walked through the Boston locker room.
“They’re looking at it; an internist is looking at him. We don’t know the extent of the injury but, clearly, he got some eye poke,” Stevens told reporters. “Hopefully, not too much trauma.”
Turner’s eye injury could cost the Celtics a lot if the team loses him for any amount of time since Turner has been one of their best two-way players this year. On average, he has marked 10.5 points per game on 46 percent shooting to go with 4.9 rebounds, as well as 4.4 assists in each contest. He clinched a playoff spot with the big win in L.A. The player scored 17 points for his team.
Isaiah Thomas and the Celtics are preparing themselves to seek higher ground in the Eastern Conference playoff race. In the first half, Thomas managed to score 21 of his 26 points, while Jae Crowder added 22 at Staples Center on Sunday night. Amir Johnson left with 10 points and 13 rebounds.
The Lakers were leading at the beginning, but the Celtics made key shots heading to the final quarter
Fueled by the rivalry, Kobe Bryant was unusually dead-serious and scored 34 points on 11-of-28 shooting. He was very aware that it was his final contest against the Boston Celtics in his career.
Bryant was responsible for the Lakers’ first lead at 66-65 at 6:30 of the third. Then, Russell’s bucket achieved an advantage by 3 points, but just before the final quarter, the Celtics went up 77-75.
Lakers coach Byron Scott described Isaiah a “great player” and said he and Crowder had made key shots ensure the victory at the end. Scott admitted that his team got some good looks, but that the Celtics’ looks had been much better.
Source: CBS News