Gallinari Says Nuggets Can Still Do Damage In Playoffs Without Him

DENVER (CBS4) - The moment Danilo Gallinari went crashing to the floor with a twisted knee on Thursday night, many Nuggets fans were probably thinking "There goes the season."

However, the Nuggets may be one of the only teams in the NBA who can withstand the loss of their second leading scorer.

They certainly didn't skip a beat on Saturday night with their 20th straight home win -- a 132-114 victory over the Rockets.

As for Gallinari, he says he doesn't plan to watch the video of his injury. He lived it, why watch it?

"I felt the pop, and I felt like my knee went outside and inside. It went in and out right away," he told CBS4 Sports in an exclusive interview. "I knew it was something bad that never happened to me before. I'd never had that feeling that before. I'd suffered pain and injuries before but this was definitely the worst one."

VIDEO: Watch CBS4's Complete Interview With Gallinari

"I knew something was wrong with my knee, but I didn't know how bad," he said.

The trainer who tested Gallinari's knee found a problem right away.

"When he came in the locker room and tested my knee to see if it was stable or not my right knee was fine, it was rock solid. But my left knee was just dancing," he said.

Gallinari said he's not sure why the injury might have happened, but now he just wants to think about moving forward.

"You just want to get the surgery done and get back on track on playing basketball again."

Gallinari said one of his first thoughts was that the "chance to do something special this year was gone for me." He also said he's so angry it happened that he "wants to punch somebody" but he doesn't know who. Mainly, he said he's just "mad at the world."

The Nuggets will now head into the NBA postseason with a different starting forward, but Gallinari thinks his team will still be deep enough to do some major damage in the playoffs.

Gallinari is scheduled to undergo surgery in mid-April. He would love to be able to play again in November, but he's really not sure how long his recovery will take.