Rowan Kavner 
Digital Content Coordinator
ORLANDO – The more lasting effect of Wednesday’s game happened seconds before Austin Rivers got tossed.
Rivers suffered a left hand contusion on the layup prior to his ejection, and it forced him out of Friday’s matchup against the Magic.
“I went into the lane, and something, either an elbow or something, hit me just dead in the middle of my hand,” Rivers said. “I just got a bad bone bruise, swelling around it. I got X-rayed, everything came back negative, so that’s good. They said it’s not going to get worse, it’s just a lot of pain.”
Rivers was a game-time decision Friday, and he said he was going to try to get shots up before the game to see if he could go, but he wasn’t able to play.
He said the injury is still “incredibly painful.” If it didn’t feel right, he said he’d wait until Miami to return to action. Rivers wore a wrap around his left hand in the locker room, something he said he would’ve had to play with Friday.
“I’ve got to wear this the whole time,” Rivers said. “If someone hits it, it’ll be incredibly painful. It’s like a gel, they’ve got all types of stuff in it and on it. I’ve been getting treatment for the past 48 hours. Just trying to go about this the best way.”
Rivers had four points in seven first-half minutes before his ejection in Wednesday’s loss. Prior to that game, Rivers had at least 16 points in each of his previous two games.
“We’re still trying to figure out how somebody can (get hurt) that quickly,” head coach Doc Rivers joked before Friday’s game, “but he couldn’t practice yesterday.”