Hawks lose DeMarre Carroll late in Game 1 with leg injury

— -- ATLANTA -- Atlanta Hawks forward DeMarre Carroll left in the fourth quarter of Wednesday night's 97-89 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers with a left leg injury.

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.

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.