Hawks' Sefolosha fractures fibula in NYC incident, out for playoffs
Atlanta Hawks forward Thabo Sefolosha will miss the remainder of the regular season and the playoffs after fracturing his fibula in an incident involving several NBA players outside a New York City nightclub early Wednesday morning, ESPN.com reported. Atlanta confirmed the injury and diagnosis Thursday night.
Indiana Pacers forward Chris Copeland and a female companion were stabbed in the incident, and Sefolosha and his Hawks teammate Pero Antic were arrested and charged with obstructing governmental administration for refusing to clear the area of the crime scene.
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Sefolosha was also charged with resisting arrest and disorderly conduct. He suffered the fibula injury while allegedly resisting arrest, according to the police report. TMZ published a brief video clip Thursday evening purporting to show a portion of the incident.
[daily_cut.NBA]The news comes as Atlanta, the Eastern Conference's top overall seed, readies for the NBA playoffs.
On Wednesday, Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer addressed his players' involvement in the incident.
"The events...involving Pero and Thabo were unfortunate as we never want to see our players put themselves in a potentially negative situation," Budenholzer said in a statement. "We will continue to look into the facts of the incident but with the information and foundation that we currently have established, we will support them through this process. Otherwise it is a continuing legal matter and I will have no further comment."
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The Hawks acquired Sefolosha in a sign-and-trade this summer. The 30-year-old missed 23 games with a strained calf but returned to action in late March.
Over 52 games this season, Sefolosha has averaged 5.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 18.8 minutes per game.
-Chris Johnson and Will Green
