An MRI conducted Thursday night inside Kia Center confirmed Jonathan Isaac appeared to avoid the worst after a scary fall in the third quarter of Orlando‘s overtime win against Washington.
The Magic led the Wizards by 15 points roughly halfway through the third when Paolo Banchero tossed up a lob to Isaac, who cut down the baseline.
As the ball bounced off the rim, Isaac came down and landed on both feet, but he immediately collapsed to the floor while grabbing his left knee.
Play continued momentarily but Orlando committed a foul to stop action and tend to Isaac, who was in clear pain. A few moments later, the 6-foot-10 forward was able to stand up and slowly walk off the court on his own power to the locker room.
After the game, Isaac underwent an MRI that confirmed he suffered a left knee strain, according to the team. Isaac’s return to play will depend on how he responds to treatment, the team said.
Entering the night, Isaac had averaged 2.6 points and 2.6 rebounds in 10.2 minutes per night across 51 contests. He previously missed six games due to injury, including two last week due to left knee soreness and one because of a left knee strain.
The rest of the Magic, however, weren’t yet aware of the extent of Isaac’s injury during Thursday’s game. And knowing his past — Isaac previously missed 2 1/2 years due to various knee injuries, including a torn left ACL — they feared the worst.
“Scary to see him go down like that but I was happy to see him get up and walk it off,” Banchero said in the locker room after the game. “So hopefully that’s a good sign that it wasn’t too serious. But initially though, for sure was scary.”
Magic coach Jamahl Mosley shared a similar sentiment.
“My heart dropped,” he said. “Especially the way he went down, just seeing that, prayerfully so, God-willing he’s OK. But that initial reaction was just that.
“It took a lot of energy out of the group because they know one of their brothers goes down, especially JI, who we know what he’s been through … So (we) just continue to pray for him and where he is with what’s going on,” he added.
Orlando was able to maintain a 15-point lead entering the fourth quarter, but Washington wouldn’t go down without a fight by forcing overtime after Wizards guard Bilal Coulibaly banked in a 3-pointer with 5.8 seconds left in regulation.
Coulibaly hit another triple to tie the game at 131 with 1:39 remaining in the extra period, but Magic guard Jalen Suggs scored the final five points of the game to secure a 136-131 victory, which marked Orlando’s sixth straight.
Isaac was seen walking on his own power in the locker room after the five-point win, but he declined to speak to the media.
“With JI going down in that third quarter… Just to kind of come back and regroup ourselves and come back to a positive mindset is huge,” said Magic forward Tristan da Silva, who scored a career-high 26 points. “I mean, for me personally, I tried to think about what he would think and like just being out there and playing hard for him. He would love to be out there, but he can’t right now.
“So, it hurts my heart but I’m glad we got it done.”
Jason Beede can be reached at jbeede@orlandosentinel.com