Horford was injured with 6:08 remaining in the first quarter of Wednesday’s game. He was averaging 12.4 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.3 blocks to go along with the NBA’s eighth-best shooting percentage (.553).
BY PAUL NEWBERRY | THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
ATLANTA — Atlanta Hawks All-Star center Al Horford will miss at least three months with a shoulder injury, a major blow to a playoff contender in the Eastern Conference.
The team announced Thursday that Horford tore his left pectoral muscle in the first quarter of Wednesday night’s game at Indiana. The injury will likely require surgery, stunning a team that has made the playoffs four years in a row and is off to a solid start with wins over Miami and Chicago in the early going.
“I did hear something kind of pop a little bit, so I thought it was something different,” said Horford, who wrenched his shoulder while battling for a rebound with Roy Hibbert. “I’m still surprised.
“I thought I was going to be able to rehab it for a couple of weeks and come back.”
Horford, a two-time All-Star, could be out as long as four months, which would take his rehab deep into the playoffs — should the Hawks make it that far. He will get a second opinion before making the final decision to undergo surgery, but even the most optimistic projection would keep him out until mid-April.
The Hawks final regular-season game is April 26.
“He’s going to certainly be missed,” coach Larry Drew said. “We were starting to mesh. We were starting to jell.
“I’m hoping our guys will rally around one another.”
Horford was injured with 6:08 remaining in the first quarter of Wednesday’s game. He was averaging 12.4 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.3 blocks to go along with the NBA’s eighth-best shooting percentage (.553).