The Charlotte Hornets will be without swingman Nicolas Batum for at least their next game, but Friday brought some good news on the injury front.
After being forced to leave Thursday's contest with a hyperextended right knee, Batum underwent an MRI on Friday that revealed no structural damage, the team announced. He'll sit out Saturday's game against the San Antonio Spurs, and will be listed as day to day moving forward.
Batum had been playing perhaps his best ball of the season before suffering the injury, averaging 20.4 points on 47.9 percent shooting over his eight previous games. For the season, he's averaging 15.1 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 5.8 assists, while playing in all but one game.
He and point guard Kemba Walker represent the Hornets' most-used two-man combination, and the team has outscored opponents by 6.5 points per 100 possessions in the 1,003 minutes they've shared the floor.