LOS ANGELES (AP) - Houston Rockets forward Shane Battier was cut over his left eye and had blood streaming down his face in the closing seconds of the first quarter of Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Battier left for the locker room and got four stitches after he was hit when Los Angeles' Sasha Vujacic swatted a loose ball out to Kobe Bryant. The force of the impact knocked Battier to the ground.Workers spent a few minutes wiping blood off the court.
Battier returned late in the second quarter .
Earlier in the quarter, the Lakers' Pau Gasol had trainers work on a cut over his left eye, and Gasol returned to the game.
