Chris Paul injury update: Rockets optimistic star guard will only miss 2-to-3 weeks with hamstring injury, per report

Paul was also hampered by a hamstring injury during the Western Conference Finals in May

The Houston Rockets may have suffered a tough blow just when they were playing some tremendous basketball.

During the first half of Thursday's game against the Miami Heat, guard Chris Paul suffered a left hamstring strain and was forced to leave the court. Just minutes later, the team announced that Paul would miss the remainder of the game.

However, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, the Rockets are optimistic that Paul may only miss 2-3 weeks due to the hamstring strain.

There's optimism that Chris Paul's left hamstring injury will cost him only two-to-three weeks out of the Rockets lineup, league sources tell ESPN.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) December 21, 2018

The injury occurred when Heat forward Derrick Jones Jr. knocked the ball loose, and Paul immediately clutched at his left leg in pain. The All-Star guard quickly went to the locker room for further observation. 

Prior to suffering the hamstring injury, Paul had scored four points on 1-of-3 shooting while dishing out four assists.

Paul's injury comes just when the Rockets were starting to play their best basketball of the season. Houston, back in action on Saturday against the Spurs (8 p.m. ET -- watch on fuboTV with the NBA League Pass extension), had won five consecutive games entering Thursday, and James Harden has been averaging nearly 39 points per game during their winning streak.

This isn't the first time that Paul has dealt with hamstring issues, either. In the 2018 Western Conference Finals, Paul suffered a right hamstring strain late in Game 5 after willing the Rockets to victory. The veteran point guard missed Games 6 and 7 of that series against the Golden State Warriors, and the Warriors ended up winning those potential elimination games to advance to the NBA Finals.