The Phoenix Suns not only lost to the lowly Philadelphia 76ers—at home—Saturday night, but also lost budding star point guard Eric Bledsoe to a knee injury—an injury that will reportedly sideline him for an extended period.
Updated 12:54 p.m. EST–Phoenix Suns guard Eric Bledsoe left Saturday’s loss to the Philadelphia 76ers in the second quarter with a sprained knee and did not return, adding injury to insult in the embarrassing 111-104 defeat at the hands of the now 2-30 Sixers.
Midway through the second period, Bledsoe appeared to collide with Robert Covington of the 76ers while Phoenix had the ball. He sat on the floor during a Philadelphia possession, calling for his teammates at the other end to foul and stop the clock.
Bledsoe didn’t put any weight on the injured left leg as trainers helped him off the floor.
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According to the Associated Press, the Suns said their leading scorer would undergo an MRI on Sunday.
Fans breathing a small sigh of relief in that the injury is not to the right knee that Bledsoe underwent surgery on in 2014, when he had a portion of the meniscus removed from the joint had those hopes dashed when Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic reported there may be damage to the left meniscus.
Eric Bledsoe is expected to miss extended time for Saturday's left knee injury. MRI results on possible meniscus damage are to be announced.
— Paul Coro (@paulcoro) December 27, 2015
Bledsoe is leading the Suns in scoring, assists and steals—averaging 20.4 points, 6.1 assists and two steals a night and has been considered a contender for his first career All-Star appearance this season.
The loss was Phoenix’s fourth in a row and was the first road victory by the 76ers since March 25, a span of 23 games covering the end of last season and the beginning of this campaign.
Bledsoe missed a game last month with a sore left knee after a collision with Alonzo Gee of the New Orleans Pelicans during a Nov. 22 game.
He emerged as a key performer after being acquired by the Suns as part of a three-team trade in July 2013, when Phoenix got him and Caron Butler from the Los Angeles Clippers as part of a sign-and-trade transaction that landed J.J. Redick in L.A.
Bledsoe, who had averaged 8.5 points and 3.1 assists in 20.4 minutes per game backing up Chris Paul in 2012-13, thrived as a starting combo guard with Goran Dragic in 2013-14, averaging 17.7 points, 5.5 assists and 4.7 rebounds despite missing 39 games with the injured right knee.
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Last season, he played in 81 games—matching a career high—and averaged 17 points, 6.1 assists and 5.2 boards a game.