Gerald Wallace is nicknamed “Crash” for a reason.
The Nets’ versatile forward took a hard tumble early in last night’s 99-79 win over the Suns, and was forced to leave the game after bruising his ribs.
“It was an ugly fall,” Joe Johnson said after the game. “I thought he might have broke his wrist or something, but it definitely was a massive fall.”
Wallace left the game at the 6:09 mark of the first quarter after he went down hard after catching a pass on the break and going up for a dunk, hitting the deck after a clean but hard foul from Suns small forward P.J. Tucker.
Suns coach Alvin Gentry chose to have rookie backup point guard Tyshawn Taylor shoot the free throws for Wallace, who was unable to remain in the game after remaining on the floor for a couple of minutes before he was eventually helped back to the locker room.
The Nets took Wallace home during the game, and his availability for tomorrow’s game in Brooklyn against the Pacers is up in the air.
* Though Johnson was able to play and finish with a game-high 19 points despite being a game-time decision after missing the team’s morning shootaround because he was under the weather, Mirza Teletovic was not. The power forward, who has recently enjoyed his best stretch of play this season, sat out with an undisclosed illness.
The Nets were also without Jerry Stackhouse, who once again sat with a sore right hamstring, and Kris Humphries, a late scratch with a sore left ankle after returning from a two-game absence with the same injury to play in Tuesday’s win in Philadelphia.
* Last night marked the first time since the Nets entered the NBA that they have won three consecutive games by at least 20 points. The last time the Nets accomplished that feat was back in February 1975, when they were still playing in the ABA. The victory also pushed the Nets’ record to 14-0 this season against opponents who began the game with a losing record.