Toronto Raptors PG Kyle Lowry to undergo wrist surgery

Toronto Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry will undergo wrist surgery Tuesday and is expected to miss the remainder of the regular season.

Lowry will undergo a procedure to remove "loose bodies" from his right wrist, the Raptors announced Monday on their Twitter site. The aim, according to the team, is for Lowry to be back by the playoffs.

"Not good. It was one of those things we didn't know it was as serious as it was," Toronto coach Dwane Casey said. "That's why you get second opinions as he did. He decided to have it done now, hopefully to have some time before the playoffs to get some games in."

The team's second-leading scorer, the 6-foot-1 Lowry is averaging a career-high 22.8 points to go along with 6.8 assists and 4.7 rebounds. He also is shooting 46.3 percent overall and a career-best 41.7 percent from 3-point range.

Lowry's last appearance came in the NBA All-Star Game on Feb. 19, when he scored 19 points and knocked down 5 of 9 3-point attempts. He scored at least 20 points in 10 of his last 13 games, including a four-game stretch from Jan. 27 to Feb. 1 where he netted at least 32 in each.

Cory Joseph started in Lowry's place in the past two games -- both wins -- and scored a combined 25 points while doling out six assists in each. Backup Delon Wright contributed 11 points in Sunday's win over Portland.

"Those guys did a good job," Casey said of Joseph and Wright after Sunday's win. "Not having our queen bee in there and our top guy to hand the ball off to offensively, defensively, 3-point shooting, we miss that part of it."

Lowry is in his 11th season overall and fifth with the Raptors. The former Villanova product was a first-round draft pick (No. 24 overall) of the Memphis Grizzlies in 2006.