Amare Stoudemire, the New York Knicks forward, suffered severe cuts to his left hand after punching a small glass window in front of a fire extinguisher following a 104-94 NBA play-off loss at Miami on Monday.
As a result of his actions in a moment of frustration, Stoudemire's status for the remainder of the first-round Eastern Conference best-of-seven is uncertain. He left the arena with a bandaged hand and his left arm in a sling.
"I am so mad at myself right now," Stoudemire posted on his Twitter page. "I want to apologise to the fans and my team, not proud of my actions, headed home for a new start."
The Knicks would welcome a chance to start over as well, just as they were hoping their injured star Jeremy Lin makes his comeback sooner than later.
Lin did some on-court work in Miami for the fourth consecutive day, before the Knicks went down to Miami Heat 2-0 in the series.
Game 3 is on Thursday in New York and the Knicks plan to practice over the two days. That could give them time to get a better feel for how Lin's recovery from surgery to repair torn cartilage in his left knee is going.
"We haven't run up and down in terms of being able to scrimmage or anything like that," Knicks coach Mike Woodson said. "And that's where the test is going to come. When he's got to cut and guard people and push and do things of that nature, that's the big test. And we don't have time to practice like that. We really don't. So basically all he's done is drills and he's shot the ball a lot here as of late, but only time will tell."
Stoudemire scored 18 points on Monday, going 6-of-9 from the field and the free throw line and grabbing seven rebounds, but the Knicks suffered their 12th consecutive play-off loss over multiple seasons to match an NBA futility record.
Guards kept media from approaching Stoudemire as he boarded the Knicks' team bus. A team statement said that his status would be evaluated once the team returned to New York but Stoudemire's teammates were doubtful. "We just know right now that he has a laceration and he's probably going to be out," Knicks center Tyson Chandler said. "It's tough obviously. Amare is a huge part of this team. Without him, it's going to make it more difficult."
"It's a tough situation. It seems like it's always something happening," forward Carmelo Anthony said. "Snakebit. But it is what it is. We have to move forward."
"He's one of the keys on this team," Anthony said. "We need him. I need him out there. I need him fighting with me."
