PORTLAND, Ore. -- The Los Angeles Clippers' championship hopes took a severe blow Monday night when Chris Paul suffered a broken bone in his right hand in a 98-84 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers that tied their first-round playoff series at two games each.
Paul departed midway through the third quarter. It was not clear how he was hurt, although his wrist appeared to bend back when he guarded Portland's Gerald Henderson on a layup.
"Chris is taking this very hard," Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. "He's worked all year to get back to the playoffs."
Paul appeared to hit Henderson's back while trying to reach in midway through the third quarter and soon after went to the bench clutching his right hand. He was attended to by a trainer, then left for the locker room, kicking at a seat cushion on the court when he left.
Paul was averaging 26.3 points over the first three games of the series.
There is no timetable for Paul’s recovery, but the Clippers have almost certainly lost him for the rest of the series with Portland at the minimum.
The Associated Press and NBC's Pro Basketball Talk contributed to this report.