The Los Angeles Lakers were riding high after beating the team with the best record in the NBA, and their longtime rivals, the Boston Celtics, 114-105, on Thursday night at TD Garden.
It was just the third loss at home for Boston all season, but the Lakers suffered a loss of their own during the stunning upset victory.
Lakers’ forward Jarred Vanderbilt left the game in the first half with a foot injury and did not return.
ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, and NBA Insider Adrian Wojnarowski, reported on Friday morning that Vanderbilt is expected to miss several weeks, if not more with the right foot injury.
Vanderbilt missed over a month at the start of the season, a total of 20 games, with a left heel injury, and sources told NBC LA that the current right foot injury is unrelated to the former injury suffered in training camp.
After returning to the court on December 2nd, it took a while for Vanderbilt to get back into game shape and develop a rhythm with his teammates on the court. Vanderbilt struggled in his first 20 games back from the injury, but had been hitting his stride in recent weeks, averaging 10.8 points and 5.4 rebounds off the bench in the Lakers’ last eight games.