Blazers' Rodney Hood Helped off with Knee Injury During Game 7 vs. Nuggets

Portland Trail Blazers swingman Rodney Hood suffered a hyperextension of his left knee in Sunday's game against the Denver Nuggets in the third quarter, the team announced.

Hood backed into a screen by Torrey Craig and almost immediately went down holding his left leg.

Hood played 20 minutes off the bench for Portland, scoring six points and collecting three rebounds.

The fifth-year veteran has been excellent in the Western Conference Semifinals so far. Through the first six games, he was averaging 16.2 points and shooting 58.3 percent from three-point range.

Hood's performance is a far cry from a season ago, when he appeared in 17 of the Cleveland Cavaliers' 22 postseason games and averaged 5.4 points.

The Blazers have needed their supporting cast to step up after Jusuf Nurkic's season-ending injury put their depth to the test, and Hood has so far answered the call. According to NBA.com, Portland owned a 3.1 net rating with Hood on the court in this year's playoffs, and its net rating fell to minus-0.4 with him on the bench.

In the event he's sidelined, Hood's absence would shrink the Blazers' margin for error even further in the Western Conference Finals against the Golden State Warriors.