Nuggets' Julian Stawther leaves game following nasty-looking knee injury

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — This is what everyone fears in a preseason game.

Denver wing Julian Strawther went down in the third quarter against the Clippers with a nasty-looking knee injury. Strawther was trying to avoid having Isaiah Jackson steal the ball from him when his foot came out from under him, and his left knee bent in an awkward, ugly way. Strawther stayed on the ground, in obvious pain, and when a teammate handed him a towel he covered his face. He was eventually helped up and went straight back to the locker room.

"Just a left knee injury, MRI in the morning (Thursday), hoping for the best to be honest..." Nuggets coach David Adelman said postgame, adding there's no direct information yet. "Obviously, it sucks to see anybody get hurt. Someone that's been hurting their ass off all summer. So yeah, all you can do is hope for the best. But he's in it right now. I feel bad."

Strawther had played well off the bench for Denver in the preseason game, especially in the first half when paired with some of the starters. He finished the night with 11 points and hit 3-of-7 from 3.

Strawther, the fourth-year pro out of Gonzaga, is poised to see more minutes this season as the Nuggets search for perimeter depth. Strawther, DeMar DeRozan and Tyus Jones are seen as key perimeter bench contributors for Denver.

Hopefully this isn't as bad as it looked and Strawther will get to take advantage of his opportunity this season.