Trail Blazers’ Ayton Exits with Injury as Nuggets Face Tough Matchup

DENVER, Colo. — The Portland Trail Blazers’ center Deandre Ayton left Monday night’s game against the Denver Nuggets in the third quarter due to a left calf injury and will not return. At the time of his exit, the Blazers trailed 78-67 with 8:58 remaining in the quarter. Ayton had scored 10 points, recorded zero rebounds, and accrued four personal fouls.

Teammates Jerami Grant and Duop Reath assisted Ayton off the court towards the locker room. Grant was initially sidelined, dealing with right knee soreness.

The Trail Blazers faced the Nuggets in their second regular-season meeting. In their last matchup, Nuggets’ star Nikola Jokic delivered an impressive performance with 34 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists, and 1 steal, putting up shooting splits of 72/67/100. However, the Nuggets lost that game after Anfernee Simons made a buzzer-beater layup for Portland.

Currently, the Nuggets are riding a league-high six-game winning streak, though they are dealing with a multitude of injuries. Seven players are listed on their injury report: Jamal Murray (PROBABLE, left knee inflammation), Russell Westbrook (OUT, left hamstring strain), Aaron Gordon (PROBABLE, right calf injury management), Michael Porter Jr. (QUESTIONABLE, left hamstring tightness), Vlatko Cancar (OUT, left knee surgery rehabilitation), DaRon Holmes II (OUT, right Achilles tendon repair), and Peyton Watson (OUT, right knee sprain).

On the other side, the Trail Blazers also contend with significant injury concerns. Six players are on Portland’s report: Jerami Grant (QUESTIONABLE, right knee soreness), Matisse Thybulle (OUT, right ankle sprain), Sidy Cissoko (OUT, two-way contract), Justin Minaya (OUT, two-way contract), Kris Murray (QUESTIONABLE, left quad contusion), and Robert Williams III (QUESTIONABLE, right knee soreness).

The matchup between the Denver Nuggets and the Portland Trail Blazers is scheduled for 9:00 p.m. EST. The outcome could impact both teams’ standings as they navigate through their respective injury woes.