MIAMI — Center Hassan Whiteside reinjured his right knee during the second quarter of the Miami Heat’s Eastern Conference semifinal game on Saturday against the Toronto Raptors at AmericanAirlines Arena.
Toronto center Jonas Valanciunas also was injured. He hurt his right ankle with 8:53 left in the third quarter and did not return.
Whiteside, who strained his right knee during Game 1 but kept playing, immediately left the court when he fell during a pileup with 10:53 left in the second quarter of Game 3.
Whiteside, who led the NBA in blocked shots this season and finished third in balloting for the league’s Defensive Player of the Year, averaged 11 points and 15 rebounds during the first two games of the series with the Raptors.
In eight minutes on Saturday, Whiteside had six points and no rebounds.
Valanciunas, who averaged 19.5 points and 13.0 rebounds in the first two games, had 16 points and 10 rebounds in the first half of Game 3.