X-rays negative on Nikola Jokic’s hip injury

Nikola Jokic went down with a hip injury late in the Denver Nuggets’ Thursday night game, but the initial X-rays came back negative.

Late in the Denver Nuggets’ 127-120 victory over the Phoenix Suns Thursday night, the home team had a legitimate scare when center Nikola Jokic went down with what appeared to be a hip injury.

With 1:47 left in the game, Jokic went down defending a drive from Suns guard Devin Booker. He limped to the bench and then the locker room under his own power, but there was a serious gimp in his step and he looked like he was in quite a bit of pain. Even worse, it looked like a non-contact injury.

Jokic finished the game with 29 points, 14 rebounds, eight assists and two blocks in 36 minutes, shooting 12-for-21 from the floor.

Improving to 20-25 on the season, the Nuggets strengthened their hold on the eighth playoff seed in the Western Conference. But none of that matters if Jokic is sidelined for a significant amount of time, especially with the ninth place Portland Trail Blazers only a game behind Denver in the standings.

According to Denver Nuggets PR, Jokic suffered a left hip strain and the initial X-rays taken after the game were negative.

Jokic will have an MRI Friday to take a closer look at the damage, but the initial X-rays coming back negative is obviously great news. Jokic is the cornerstone of the Nuggets’ franchise now and has emerged as quite possibly the NBA’s best passing big.

Averaging 15.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.8 blocks per game, the 21-year-old Serbian is barely scratching the surface of his true potential. In just his second NBA season, Jokic has established himself as one of the league’s most well-rounded bigs, shooting 59.4 percent from the floor and 32.3 percent from downtown.

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The MRI will tell us more, but for now Nuggets fans have their fingers crossed that their best player won’t miss too much time. If he does, there’s a very good chance Denver winds up in the lottery again as the Blazers pass them by for that eighth and final playoff spot.