The Toronto Raptors came away with a strong win over the Detroit Pistons, but it came at the cost of two of their key rotational players.
In the first quarter, starting centre Marc Gasol left the game with a left hamstring injury and did not return.
Late in the fourth quarter, with the outcome nearly decided, Toronto lost another key player as Norman Powell was crushed by a screen and went down with a shoulder injury. He went back into the lockerroom and did not return.
There has yet to be an official update on Powell's status but according to Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun, he left the arena in a slight.
This comes as a tough blow to the Raptors, as Powell was already filling in as the starting shooting guard for Fred VanVleet, who has missed the past five games with a knee contusion.
Powell has been terrific in that stint, averaging 22.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.8 steals per game shooting 61.4% from the field and 50.0% from three. Lights out.
The 26-year-old forward only had nine points (2-7 FG) to go with three rebounds and three assists in 33 minutes of playing time against the Pistons before exiting the game with 3:17 on the clock.
The injury is significant considering Powell missed over 20 games last season with an injury to the same shoulder. Should he be forced to miss more time, expect to see an uptick in minutes from Patrick McCaw and Terence Davis while VanVleet is still out.