Aaron Nesmith left the Indiana Pacers’ Game 3 loss to the New York Knicks in the second half with a sprained right ankle. Nesmith needed help getting off the floor, but he returned for the fourth quarter after the Knicks had gone on a 32-18 run.
Nesmith walked with a noticeable limp in the Pacers’ locker room after the game.
“Yeah, it’s certainly a factor,” Rick Carlisle said of Nesmith’s injury. “He went back to the training room, got it looked at, believe he got it re-taped. He was doing things in the hallway to get moving again. And then I got the word that he was good to go back in, that he was moving without limitation at that point in time. And so rather than wait, the best thing to do is get him back in there so that you know he didn’t stiffen up anymore. And then, you know, down the stretch he seemed to move OK to me just from the eye test standing there, but I haven’t studied the film yet and obviously we’ll know more tomorrow.”