PORTLAND — Wesley Matthews sees only one option left after trying all the treatments he can on his sore left leg.
“Pray," he says in all seriousness.
The Portland Trail Blazer guard hurt his leg and ankle, along with his left elbow, just before the NBA All-Star break. But he is playing — and praying — through the pain, hoping to help push his team into the playoffs.
The Trail Blazers (26-30), are four games back of Houston for the eighth and final playoff spot in the West. The Los Angeles Lakers are 2½ games out of eighth.
The Blazers figure to need their affable shooting guard down the stretch. He is averaging 15 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 35 minutes per game. His importance to the team was evident Sunday night when he made a clutch 3-pointer with just under a minute left in Portland’s 92-86 victory over the Boston Celtics.
“God bless him," Boston coach Doc Rivers said. “He’s done it all year. He’s made some great shots."
Matthews finished with 24 points, including five 3-pointers, but often winced in pain. His limp grew more pronounced as the game went on.
“Ankle, elbow, I’m not even close to 80 percent," Matthews said. “But I’m out there fighting and my teammates are bringing me along. They’re supporting me."
According to the Blazers, Matthews has made six of seven 3-point attempts in the final minute of games when the score is within three points. On Jan. 10, he hit another memorable 3-pointer with 26.9 seconds to go in a 92-90 victory over the Miami Heat.
The son of nine-year NBA veteran Wes Matthews, the 6-foot-5 Texas native went undrafted out of Marquette but signed with Utah before the 2009 season. He went on to start in 48 games for the Jazz in his rookie season, averaging 9.4 points. The Blazers signed him in July 2010.
Earlier this season, a hip injury put Matthews briefly on the bench in street clothes for the first time in his four-year NBA career. He had played in 250 consecutive games, a streak that ranked second among active players behind Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook.
In a game at New Orleans just before the All-Star break, Matthews collided with Hornets rookie Austin Rivers and fell awkwardly. He could not put weight on the leg and needed to be helped off the court.
Matthews missed Portland’s first game back after the break but returned to face the Lakers and Celtics. The victory over Boston snapped a seven-game Portland losing streak, the team’s longest of the season.
“As long as I feel I’m not going to further damage my future, I’m going to keep playing," he said.
But it clearly is not easy, by the looks of his limp. And after the big 3-pointer against the Celtics, Matthews grabbed his elbow.
“Every game I’m looking up and praying, ‘Let me get through this quarter,’" he said.
Matthews continues to receive treatment on both his ailing leg and his bad elbow. The plan after the Boston game was to hook up to electric stimulation machines at home and watch the movie “Ironman."
He is putting himself through all this for one reason: hope. While the Blazers were hurt by the seven-game losing streak, they are not out of postseason contention yet by any means. Matthews even has a theory that if the team can put together five three-game winning streaks over the next 26 games, it will be enough to get into the playoffs.
Portland missed the postseason last year.
“We haven’t lost hope. We haven’t lost belief," Matthews said. “We still feel we can make these playoffs. We know what we’ve got to do."