Tim Hardaway Jr. suffered a horrific fall during the Pistons' 123-121 overtime win over the Heat in their NBA Cup opener on Tuesday night, forcing him to leave the court in a wheelchair in the third quarter. Ta. team.
Hardaway was playing defense when he caught an elbow to the jaw from Heat center Bam Adebayo, sending him to the ground.
Although the initial contact clearly hurt, Hardaway quickly rose to his feet to return to defense, but quickly found himself back on the ground when he collided with Tyler Herro.
force of collision Hardaway was slammed hard to the ground and his head appeared to hit the court so hard that Hardaway clutched his head in pain.
The Pistons guard lay on the ground for an extended period of time and appeared to be bleeding as the training staff looked on.
Hardaway also looked stunned.
A few minutes later, Hardaway was seen being removed from the floor in a wheelchair with a towel over his head.
After the game, there seemed to be some good news for Hardaway, but it appears the injury was worse than expected.
NBA Insider Chris Haynes reports. Hardaway underwent a CAT scan, which came back negative.
Injured in the second half when the Pistons lost to the Heat in OT.
November 12, 2024, the NBA Cup opening game between both teams. Getty Images
Hardaway will receive stitches.
At the time of the injury, Hardaway was scoring 11 points in 19 minutes, making 3 of 6 from the field.
Detroit led 64-59 at this point and won 123-121 in overtime.
Hardaway entered Wednesday's game averaging 12.6 points and shooting 47 percent from 3-point range.
The Pistons improved to 5-7 and will face the Bucks on Wednesday.
