HOUSTON -- Houston Rockets point guard Patrick Beverley woke up on Monday morning and already knew what the team doctors would tell him hours later: He was going to play in Game 2 on Wednesday.
After undergoing an MRI on his right knee Monday and meeting with team doctors, Beverley is cleared to play after there was no further damage found in the torn meniscus in his right knee. Beverley suffered the injury on March 27 against the Philadelphia 76ers and missed eight games, but returned before the end of the regular season after concerns he might need season-ending surgery.
Beverley said he woke up at his home on Monday morning and walked around with no issues and knew he'd be good to go.
"I know my body better than anybody else," Beverley said. "(Sunday night) I felt a real stiff little pain toward the area that I hurt before. I was fortunate, though. It healed fast, I guess."
Beverley was limited in practice and was seen participating in shooting drills without a visible limp. After his battered condition on Monday night, his teammates were prepared to lose him for some time, perhaps the rest of the playoffs.
But after losing Game 1, the Rockets were pleased to hear the good news ahead of Monday's practice.
"I'm happy," Dwight Howard said. "I think he went home and just shook his leg a million times and whatever happened, it popped back into place. It's pretty crazy." Rockets forward Chandler Parsons echoed Howard's surprise.
"I'm stoked," Parsons said. "I didn't see that coming. He never ceases to amaze me. Last night, he was really shaken up, pretty much not walking. I didn't know what to think, but I thought the worst."
Rockets coach Kevin McHale has been through this before with Beverley and understood that the next morning would be telling, rather than rushing to judgment the night of the injury.
"He said it feels a lot better," McHale said, "but he's pretty much going to say that all the time."
Aldridge fouled out on the play for setting an illegal screen, but Beverley stayed on the floor for the next two possessions before he fouled out himself with less than a minute remaining.
Beverley said his status for Wednesday's game doesn't change the fact that he needs his teammates behind him to fully contain Portland star point guard Damian Lillard, who scored 31 points and led the Blazers down the stretch.
"Lillard is a phenomenal player," Beverley said. "We have to get ready (for him). Not one person can guard him. It has to be a team effort."