Kyle Lowry has been ruled out of the Toronto Raptors' showdown with the San Antonio Spurs, head coach Nick Nurse said.
Lowry will miss Thursday's reunion with former Raptors team-mate DeMar DeRozan in San Antonio due to an ongoing back problem.
The NBA All-Star has not played since December 22 and has been out for eight of Toronto's last nine games.
Toronto's matchup against San Antonio would have been the first time Lowry faced DeRozan since he was traded to the Spurs in exchange for Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green in the off-season.
The pair played together in Toronto from 2012-18 and are close friends.
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Lowry is averaging 14.4 points and a career-high 9.8 assists in 34.1 minutes per game this season. He is shooting 43.3 per cent from the field and 32.5 per cent from three-point range.
Nurse said last weekend he was "a little bit worried" about Lowry, who received pain-relieving and anti-inflammatory injections in his back on Tuesday.
"You're always concerned," Nurse said Sunday, via ESPN . "You want an All-Star player back as soon as possible. Any of our guys, we want them back as soon as possible ... I think we're positive and hopeful that it's going in the right direction, and we'll see him back soon."
The Raptors has been one of the best teams in the NBA this season and will enter its game against the Spurs with a 28-11 record.
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