LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Miami Heat guard Goran Dragic powered through pain to return to play in Game 6 of the NBA Finals after missing the last four with a torn plantar fascia in his left foot.
Despite the heroic effort, Dragic wasn't able to provide the Heat with enough as Miami lost the series to the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday night 106-93. Dragic, who first checked in for the Heat late in the first quarter, finished with five points in 19 minutes.
He said after the game he had been determined to play since suffering the injury late in the first half of Game 1.
A source told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski that Dragic had been told the injury couldn't worsen by playing. However, the pain has been extreme and ultimately proved too much for the guard as he attempted to warm up ahead of Game 4.
"It was really a small chance to come back," Dragic said after the game, "but I push it, I did all the treatment I can. Even today, I push it; I didn't feel right. But it is what it is."
Even though Dragic had not played in the previous four games, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said that he stayed "incredibly involved." After the game, Spoelstra revealed that Dragic texted him hours after Game 1, saying: "Coach, don't give up on me. Give me a chance. I'll find my way back."
"I talked to the trainers the next day and they said: 'Not a chance." And then, sure enough, he's begging everyone one of us the last three games to just give him a chance," Spoelstra said.
Dragic said he will now focus on rest as he continues his recovery.
"They told me when you snap the fasciia, it's basically you did your own surgery. So from now on, just rest and it's gonna get better on their own. So I don't need to go to the doctor, no surgery, nothing. But like I said, the one thing that I didn't have was time, and it was tough."
