Houston forward Donatas Motiejunas will miss the rest of the season after back surgery.
The 7-foot Motiejunas last played on March 25 and had minimally invasive spine surgery called a lumbar microdiscectomy on Thursday.
Motiejunas, who is in his third season, averaged career bests in points (12), rebounds (5.9) and assists (1.8) this season. He played a key role for the Rockets with centre Dwight Howard missing significant time with a knee injury earlier this year. Motiejunas appeared in 71 games with 62 starts and his 28.7 minutes a game were a career high.
His injury is another blow to a Houston team that already lost point guard Patrick Beverley to season-ending wrist surgery as the playoffs approach.
