SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Golden State Warriors second-year guard Patrick McCaw will miss at least three games after suffering a lumbar spine contusion in a scary hard fall in Saturday night’s win against the Sacramento Kings.

Nonetheless, the Warriors expected McCaw to be released from UC Davis hospital late Sunday after preliminary X-ray, CT scan and MRI exams were all clear. The Warriors said preliminary reviews also showed no structural damage or neural disruption. McCaw plans to be re-examined by a specialist Thursday.

McCaw drove to the basket for a layup and was fouled midair by Kings forward Vince Carter; the foul later was determined to be a flagrant foul 1. McCaw immediately screamed in pain and rolled over on the floor. He stayed motionless on the court for about five minutes as Warriors trainer Drew Yoder and head coach Steve Kerr attended to him.

“It’s an unfortunate play. I know Vince’s spirit and his heart. I don’t believe it was intentional at all,” Warriors forward Kevin Durant said. “It looked like he was just caught in the play and wanting to get out of the way. Pat was coming so far. Nobody in our locker room thinks Vince did it on purpose.”

— The (San Jose, Calif.) Mercury News