Bosh will miss rest of season

Associated Press

MIAMI

Not even a week ago, Chris Bosh was talking about how eager he was to get home in an effort to turn the Miami Heat’s season around.

His focus will be on something far more important now.

The All-Star forward’s season is over, with the Heat announcing Saturday that — as suspected — blood clots were found on one of his lungs. The problem, if it had not been caught, could have killed the 30-year-old Bosh, who had been fighting pain in his side and back for several days.

“He was able to get in front of it early,” Heat guard Dwyane Wade said, adding that Bosh’s wife, Adrienne, encouraged him to get checked out when the problem wouldn’t subside. “That’s the good thing that helps all of us sleep at night.”

The team said Bosh “is receiving care under the guidance of Miami Heat team physicians” at a hospital, adding that “his prognosis is good.”

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra sounded upbeat about Bosh’s road to recovery. The team received the news Saturday morning, Spoelstra said, and welcomed the clarity after a frightening couple of days.

“His health will be restored,” Spoelstra said before Miami played host to New Orleans. “That’s the most important thing. That’s bigger than basketball.”

Spoelstra and Wade visited Bosh on Saturday.

“It’s been very emotional for all of us,” Spoelstra said. “I was in constant contact with CB. But he didn’t know either until they were able to go through all the tests and see all the specialists. ... I can’t imagine how tough it was for Chris and Adrienne.”

Bosh is the second NBA player whose final game this season was the All-Star Game. New York’s Carmelo Anthony was shut down for knee surgery earlier in the week, a move that was long expected.