PORTLAND, Ore. — Portland Trail Blazers guard CJ McCollum has a popliteus strain in his left knee and will be re-examined in a week, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
The news was the "best possible news for McCollum and [the] Blazers," according to Wojnarowski, who added that McCollum avoided a serious injury.
"God looked out for me. Could’ve been a lot worse," McCollum told Yahoo Sports' Chris Haynes.
The popliteus is the muscle that runs across the back of the knee joint. It "rotates the lower leg and plays a role in bending the knee [and] ... helps to stabilize the outer back of the knee," according to Physiopedia.
Treatment for a popliteus strain includes rest, ice or cold therapy, gentle stretching of the hamstring muscles, and deep tissue sports massage to the muscle along with ultrasound therapy.
McCollum was injured with 7:03 left in the third quarter of Portland's 108-103 loss to the Spurs, when he drove to the basket and as he tumbled out of bounds, had his left foot trapped under the right foot of Spurs center Jakob Poeltl. McCollum remained on the court for a few minutes grabbing his left leg in pain. He was helped off the court by teammates.
X-rays on McCollum's left leg were negative Saturday and an MRI was scheduled for Sunday in Portland. After the game, McCollum said he didn't hear his knee pop but said it was painful.
"I don't know the extent of it," McCollum said. "I don't know if it's lateral. I don't know. I just know that it's not normal."
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Jared Cowley writes about the Trail Blazers and other topics for KGW.com. He's also the co-host of the 3-on-3 Blazers podcast (listen here). You can reach him on Twitter @jaredcowley.