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Kevin Garnett leaves game with right calf injury

Kevin Garnett

Boston Celtics forward Kevin Garnett (5) grabs his jersey as he celebrates while pulling away from the Philadelphia 76ers during the second half of their NBA basketball game in Boston, Friday Jan. 18, 2008. The Celtics beat the Sixers, 116-89. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

AP

UPDATE #3 11:18 pm: Here is a post-game quote from Doc Rivers on Garnett, via the Associated Press:

“It is a muscle injury, not a knee,” Boston coach Doc Rivers said. “You always worry when a guy goes down without anyone around him, because those always seem to be severe injuries, so that was the first thing that went through my mind. We don’t think this one is too bad, but we’ll see. He’ll probably miss some time, and we’ll have to adjust.”

UPDATE #2 10:16 pm: Comcast New England has confirmed that this is an injury to the right calf of Garnett. No injury is good but the Celtics and their fans will take calf over a knee every single time.

UPDATE 8:45 pm: Comcast New England is reporting that the X-rays came back negative, meaning no fracture, but he will have an MRI back in Boston on Thursday. The Celtics are emphasizing this is a lower right leg injury (calf, not knee it turns out). The X-ray results are a good sign that this may not be anything long term. Garnett will not return to this game.

Garnett had surgery on his right knee in May 2009, after he had missed much of the latter part of the season and the playoffs that season. This injury is the same leg but appears unrelated.

A tweet from a Celtics announcer who talked to Boston players said they don’t think it was as serious as it first looked.

8:32 pm: In Detroit Wednesday, Kevin Garnett went up for a first quarter dunk off a pick-and-roll with Ray Allen, he hung on the rim for a second and when he came down he was favoring his right leg. He hobbled to mid-court, committed a foul to stop the game and came out.

It didn’t look good. He left the game immediately and limped back to the locker room for X-rays (which turned out to be negative, no fracture). He is not returning to this game. The medical staff for the Celtics seemed to focus on his knee but the team is saying it is a “lower leg” injury, whatever that means.

If this turns out to be anything serious it would be a huge blow to the Celtics. Garnett was moving the best he had since the 2008 Celtics championship year this season, and the result was the Celtics once again with the top defense in the league.

We will update this story as it develops.