Carroll crumpled to the floor in pain, laid on the ground for several minutes and needed help off the floor late in the Eastern Conference finals opener. He was supported by staff and teammates as he hopped on one leg to the locker room.
DeMarre Carroll, the Hawks’ starting small forward, was to get an MRI on the injury Thursday morning, according to TNT. He was seen using crutches after the game.

Carroll, the Hawks’ starting small forward, was to get an MRI on the injury Thursday morning, according to the TNT broadcast of the game. He was seen using crutches after the game.

Carroll’s injured his leg on a fast break when he landed awkwardly on his left foot as he gathered the ball to elevate for a layup attempt. He was guarded by Cavs wing Iman Shumpert, though there was no contact on the play.

Carroll, averaging a career-high 12.6 points with 5.3 rebounds for the No. 1 seeds, was a big part of the Hawks’ plan for containing the offense of LeBron James.

Carroll was limited to five points and one rebound with two steals in 35 minutes.

Carroll had been the team’s most reliable player in the postseason entering Thursday.

In 13 games, including Wednesday night, he has averaged 17.1 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists with a shooting percentage of 52.4 percent, including 43.9 percent from beyond the arc.

As the Hawks’ leading perimeter stopper, Carroll — nicknamed “the Junkyard Dog” — is routinely assigned the opponent’s most prolific wing scorer.

The Hawks are depleted on the wing, after losing Thabo Sefolosha for the remainder of the season to a broken leg suffered in an incident last month with law enforcement in New York.

Kent Bazemore replaced Carroll in the after the injury and would presumably be the starter should Carroll be unable to return to action.

Carroll will enter free agency following the season, as he completes a two-year, $5 million contract with Atlanta.

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Atlanta At Brooklyn
When: 3:00 PM ET, Saturday, April 25, 2015
Where: Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York
TV: 3 p.m. ET, TNT, SportSouth (Atlanta), YES (Brooklyn)
PREDICTION: Hawks 102, Nets 93
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Oddsmakers currently have the Hawks listed as 2½-point favorites versus the Nets, while the game’s total is sitting at 200½.

The Nets were a 96-91 loser in their most recent outing on the road against the Hawks. They covered the +9.5-point spread as underdogs, while the total score (187) made winners of UNDER bettors.

Atlanta forward Paul Millsap went 2-of-11 from the field while playing with a bulky shoulder brace in Game 1. The All-Star ditched the brace for Game 2 and ended up going 4-of-4 from 3-point range and 7-of-11 from the floor en route to a team-high 19 points. “Definitely more range and definitely more mobility,” Millsap told reporters. “When you can’t pick your arms up above your ears, your shoulders up above your ears, it’s kind of tough. So I was able to do that (in Game 2), and more than likely I’ll go without it again the next game.”

Atlanta:
Team record: 62-22 SU,49-34-1 ATS
Atlanta is 0-4-1 ATS in its last 5 games
Atlanta is 6-3 SU in its last 9 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Atlanta’s last 6 games
Atlanta is 1-3-1 ATS in its last 5 games on the road

Williams, who drew criticism from former teammate Paul Pierce questioning his desire on the eve of the playoffs, is 6-of-18 from the field in the first two games of the series. “He was defending,” Brooklyn coach Lionel Hollins told reporters of Williams. “He made some hustle plays. Shooting comes and goes. People can criticize all they want, but if you are not in the game performing and doing it and going through the battle, you can’t say anything.” Backup point guard Jarrett Jack led the team with 23 points in Game 2.

Team record: 38-46 SU,41-41-2 ATS
Brooklyn is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games
Brooklyn is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Brooklyn’s last 6 games
Brooklyn is 5-2 ATS in its last 7 games at home

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