On February 17, 2010, in a game against the Milwaukee Bucks, Battier scored 20 points, shooting 6–6 from 3-point territory, to go along with his 10 rebounds. During the latter part of the season, Battier lost his starting spot to the returning Trevor Ariza. Battier, however, made it perfectly clear that starting a game or hearing his name before a game was not important to him. On March 21, 2010 in a game against the New York Knicks, Battier suffered a season-ending knee injury.