MIAMI -- Kyle Lowry has been ruled out for the Heat's next three games because of a left knee issue, and he could be sidelined even longer.
Lowry, who turns 37 next month, is averaging 12.0 points and 5.3 assists on 39.6% shooting this season -- all down from a year ago when Miami went into the Eastern Conference playoffs as the No. 1 seed. He will miss games against Indiana on Wednesday, Houston on Friday and Orlando on Saturday.
He didn't play Saturday at Milwaukee because of what the Heat called left knee soreness. The Heat will reevaluate him next week, when Miami has two more games before the All-Star break.
"I think this is just what you deal with in a long NBA season," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said Tuesday. "There's going to be unpredictable things. The encouraging thing about it is there doesn't need to be a procedure or anything like that. We just need to calm it down and that's where we are right now."
The last time Lowry's scoring average was this low was the 2012-13 season. This is the fewest assists per game he's averaged since 2009-10. The only season in which he had a lower shooting percentage was a 10-game stint during his rookie 2006-07 season.
The six-time All-Star is in the second year of a three-year, $85 million deal with Miami.