Monta Ellis Injury: Warriors Guard Takes a Nasty Elbow to His Face

Golden State Warriors shooting guard Monta Ellis had to leave Tuesday night's win over the Cleveland Cavaliers a little early after taking an elbow to his face from Anderson Varejao.

It's unclear exactly how badly Ellis hurt himself on the play, but Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group noted that Ellis was able to walk off the floor under his own power:

Needless to say, the hashtag would indicate that Thompson thinks Ellis is just fine.

But just to be safe, Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle reports that the Warriors had Ellis go in for an X-ray anyway:

If Ellis' nose isn't broken, then the Warriors have averted a disaster. They've already had to tough it out without Stephen Curry in recent games, so losing Ellis to an injury is the last thing they need.

Ellis managed just 10 points on 2-of-12 shooting against the Cavs, easily the worst game he's had all season. Luckily, five other Warriors scored in double figures and the Warriors won 105-95. David Lee led all scorers with 29 points.

Ellis is Golden State's leading scorer this season, but he has also been a surprisingly effective assist artist. He was averaging 7.6 assists per game coming into Tuesday's action, a figure good enough for ninth in the NBA.

The Warriors have to play at the New Jersey Nets on Wednesday night. It's too soon to tell if Ellis will be able to play in that game, but it's hard to imagine him sitting out with anything short of a broken nose.