Pelicans point guard Payton to undergo finger surgery

New Orleans Pelicans point guard Elfrid Payton will undergo surgery on his fractured left pinky finger sometime next week, coach Alvin Gentry told reporters on Saturday.

A timetable for how long Payton will be sidelined will be determined after the procedure.

Payton injured the finger during Friday night's game against the New York Knicks. The contest was his first miss after missing nine straight games due to an ankle sprain.

"The great thing about it is he'll be able to keep himself physically in shape," Gentry told reporters prior to Saturday's game against the Denver Nuggets. "It's his off-shooting hand so he'll still be able to do some stuff on the floor. We just have to see how long, from a medical standpoint, he will be out."

Jrue Holiday slid over to point guard against the Nuggets and Wesley Johnson was inserted as the starting shooting guard.

The 24-year-old Payton is averaging 9.7 points, 5.3 assists and 5.2 rebounds in six games. —Field Level Media/Reuters