It was an aggressive lob from Cory Joseph. As he often does, Bismack Biyombo extended far enough to corral the slightly overthrown pass, throwing it down as he fell away from the hoop.
As Biyombo landed, his tailbone hit the floor hard, and Biyombo immediately yelled out and reached for his back in pain. He stayed on the floor for several moments and was then able to walk off the court, later heading to the locker room.
Oh man, I hope Biyombo is OK after falling on his tail bone like that… pic.twitter.com/mjjAYSC76L
— John Meyer (@thedailywolf) February 11, 2016
But there’s good news: The team announced that Biyombo is expected to return for the second half despite a back bruise, and he checked back in midwya through the third quarter. He might be a little sore tomorrow, but the team is off until Feb. 19 after tonight, so he’ll have plenty of time to rest up.
Biyombo had six points, five rebounds, and four blocks in 11 minutes before leaving the game. His arrival in the first quarter really helped settle the defense, and he had a number of tough shot contests at the rim. He finished the game with six points, six rebounds, and six blocks, which really makes one stay woke about who the REAL Biyombo might be. On the season, he’s averaging 5.4 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks in 22.5 minutes while shooting 50.8 percent. A Biyombo injury would hurt the team’s defense significantly while also threatening the momentum the second unit has right now, so they dodged a bit of a short-term bullet here, albeit one that would have been insulated by the upcoming break.
With Jonas Valanciunas in early foul trouble (he picked up three quick ones), Lucas Nogueira was called on in the second quarter. Nogueira had a great stint when Valanciunas was hurt earlier in the year but promptly lost that momentum, and he’s played just 130 NBA minutes on the season as a result. A lengthy shot-blocker with some great passing instincts and pick-and-roll skill, Nogueira hasn’t played non-garbage time since Dec. 22. He picked up two points and one rebound in four minutes.
Delon Wright was also on the floor, as Kyle Lowry and Cory Joseph each had three fouls. He played three scoreless minutes. The presence of both youngsters is temporary, but it’s a nice silver lining to the foul trouble and Biyombo’s fall that they got a bit of meaningful run. With a 68-55 halftime lead, perhaps they’ll see some garbage time late.
