WASHINGTON, Feb. 21 (UPI) -- Veteran guard Larry Hughes of the Washington Wizards is expected to miss three weeks because of a sprained right ankle.
Hughes, the team's leading scorer off the bench, was injured in the fourth quarter of Wednesday night's 87-75 loss at New Orleans. He finished the contest with 11 points in 28 minutes, tops among Washington reserves.
Since signing as a free agent last summer, Hughes has become the team's best scoring option in reserve, averaging 13.1 points per game. He also chips in 5.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists for the playoff-hopeful Wizards.
"He's played terrific basketball for us," said Coach Doug Collins. "I thought he had one of his better games of the season (at New Orleans) before he got hurt. It just seem like things like this always snowball on us."
Hughes, 24, split his first four NBA seasons between Philadelphia and Golden State, averaging 13.3 points per game. He had a career-high 16.5 points in 50 games during the 2000-01 season after being traded to the Warriors a year earlier.
With star guard Jerry Stackhouse returning from an injury and Michael Jordan not getting any younger, Hughes' absence does little to help the Wizards (25-28), who have struggled of late and as are percentage points behind Orlando for eighth place in the Eastern Conference.
Washington hosts Atlantic Division-leading New Jersey (37-18) on Friday night.
