Philadelphia 76ers forward Danny Green suffered torn ACL, LCL in season-ending loss to Miami Heat

CAMDEN, N.J. — The Philadelphia 76ers announced that forward Danny Green tore the anterior cruciate ligament and lateral cruciate ligament in his left knee in Philadelphia's season-ending loss in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinals to the Miami Heat on Thursday night.

Green was injured when 76ers superstar Joel Embiid crashed into him in the first quarter of Game 6, falling into Green's left leg after a shot attempt and sending the 13-year forward to the ground in a heap. Green initially said he wasn't aware of just how serious the injury was until he attempted to walk off the court after spending time on the court in pain and his knee buckled when he stood up.

«I was trying to get in there, saw him drive to the basket, trying to get inside position to either get a rebound or not let the other guy double,» Green said during his exit interview earlier Friday afternoon, before he got the results of his MRI that morning. «Joel got to the rim, I saw him lay it up… I didn't know if it went in or not, but I just remember taking a tumble. I tried to move, but I couldn't get out fast enough. It just happened so fast. But I saw it happening and I was trying to like, pull my leg out, but it caught beneath me and he rolled into it.

»I knew once it happened, I felt it. I knew I wasn't able to return to the game, but I didn't realize how serious it was until I tried to put weight on it, and it buckled. Then I realized it's probably gonna take some time.

«I heard some sounds that were not comforting.»

Green had been saying, when his interview began, that he was optimistic and hopeful the injury wouldn't be «as bad as it looked» and that he could potentially avoid knee surgery and be back in time for the start of next season.