The New Orleans Hornets' playoff hopes were dealt a huge blow yesterday when their top scorer David West was ruled out for the remainder of the season because of a knee injury.

West injured his left knee whilst landing a dunk in the fourth quarter of the Hornets 121-117 overtime win over the Utah Jazz on Thursday and, after a scan yesterday, was told he had damaged the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).

"I wasn't expecting this, but things like this happen," West told reporters. "It's part of the game. I just landed the wrong way. I don't know.

"I knew something was wrong because of the amount of pain I was in. I didn't know the severity, obviously, until this morning (yesterday). I wasn't expecting ACL, but I knew there'd be some sort of damage to the knee."

West has averaged 18.9 points and 7.6 rebounds per game this season.