Suns’ Marcin Gortat says he’ll be fine after foot injury
The Phoenix Suns’ 98-71 loss to the Toronto Raptors Wednesday night was ugly on two levels.
Firstly, there was the offensive performance. The Suns shot 37.8 percent from the field and scored just 47 points over the last three quarters.
Marcus Morris’ three-pointer with :23 left ensured the Suns wouldn’t tie the worst offensive output in their 45-year history, but their 71 points were still the fourth-lowest in a game ever.
Phoenix turned the ball over 28 times — the most they’ve had in a game since 2010.
Secondly, there was injury added to insult when starting center Marcin Gortat left the game late in the first quarter with a right foot injury after stepping on the foot of Toronto’s Amir Johnson. He wouldn’t return.
“I definitely felt a pop in my foot and I knew right away it wasn’t my ankle, just my arch,” said Gortat, who had eight points in 11 minutes before the injury. “Obviously, I’ve got a big bruise and pain, but the pain killers they gave me are pretty cool, so I hope I am going to get more of those.”
The Suns were already short-handed in the post with Jermaine O’Neal missing at least the next three games to be with his daughter, who had open-heart surgery Wednesday.
When Gortat went down, the Suns were trailing by only three points. But the game changed drastically when the Polish center left the court.
“I had six assists in the first quarter with Gortat,” Suns point guard Goran Dragic said. “After that, I had zero, so you can see that every time he sets a pick-and-roll and he rolls, he sucks the defense in or they’re going to stay with shooters.
“After he left, we didn’t have that.”
Gortat has been a fixture on the court for Phoenix since coming over in a trade from Orlando in December of 2010, playing in 182 straight games — a streak that is now very much in jeopardy.
“I think I will be fine for the (Sacramento) game,” Gortat said. “I mean, I’m saying I’ll be fine but the doctors are saying I’m out for a few good days, weeks maybe.”
X-rays taken at US Airways Center came back negative. Gortat is scheduled to have an MRI Thursday.
