PHILADELPHIA - Starting guard Courtney Lee had surgery on his fractured sinus Thursday and could miss the remainder of the playoffs for the Orlando Magic.
The Magic said Lee will be out for the rest of their first-round series against the Philadelphia 76ers. The Magic lead the Sixers 3-2 in the best-of-seven series. Game 6 is Thursday night.
Lee was hurt after taking an inadvertent elbow to the head from teammate Dwight Howard in Game 5 on Tuesday night. The recovery time is at least a week depending on the outcome of Thursday's surgery. J.J. Redick will likely start in Lee's place.
Orlando also will be without Howard for Game 6. The NBA suspended the Magic's star centre one game for whacking the Sixers' Samuel Dalembert with an elbow in Game 5 that drew a technical foul. Marcin Gortat started for Howard.
The Magic were 2-1 without Howard in the lineup this season, and both victories came on the road.
Howard wrote on his blog that he'll watch the game at the hotel with family and friends who made the trip.
"I'll learn from this incident and be a better player because of it," Howard wrote. "I know that the Philly big men are trying to get into my head and make me do something stupid. I just have to keep my cool and play through it. I'll learn from this."
