Baron Davis out for about a year

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NEW YORK -- An MRI on Monday revealed that New York Knicks point guard Baron Davis has suffered a partial tear of the patella tendon in his right knee and complete tears of the right anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments, according to the team.

Davis is expected to undergo surgery later this week. Recovery time is approximately 12 months.

Davis suffered the injury in the third quarter of Game 4 of the Knicks series against the Miami Heat on Sunday afternoon. The 33-year-old was dribbling down court and appeared to go down without contact after his knee buckled.

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Davis was on the ground for several minutes being tended to by team trainers. Eventually, he was taken off the court on a stretcher. He pointed at the crowd as he was wheeled off the floor, to a loud ovation from the Madison Square Garden crowd. But he was shown by television cameras grimacing going through the players' tunnel.

Players on the floor from both teams were visibly shaken by the injury.

"I almost shed a tear on the court to be honest with you," Knicks power forward Amare Stoudemire said after Sunday's game.

"... Baron's such a great guy off the court, as a teammate. He's a phenomenal locker room guy and to see that, I dropped down to one knee and said a prayer while he was on the ground. It was sad."

Knicks interim head coach Mike Woodson said he spoke to Davis after Sunday's win.

"The one thing he did say was, 'Man, hey, I tried to give you all I could.' And I have a great deal of respect for players that work for me and work for the organization and try to do the best they can to help us win ballgames," Woodson said.

Davis had started at point guard for the Knicks since Jeremy Lin went down with a knee injury on March 24.

He signed with New York for the veteran's minimum earlier this season after being released via the amnesty clause by the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Davis worked his way back from a herniated disk injury, making his Knicks debut about seven weeks into the season. He was never 100 percent healthy though.

Davis dealt with hamstring and knee ailments throughout the regular season. In Game 1 of the Knicks' series against the Heat, his back injury flared up.

The 12-year veteran averaged six points, 4.7 assists and 2.7 turnovers in 20 minutes in the regular season. In the playoffs, Davis scored 9.7 points and dished 3.7 assists in 24 minutes entering play Sunday. He turned the ball over an average of three times per game.

Ian Begley is a regular contributor to ESPNNewYork.com.

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