Tim Hardaway Jr. had to be taken off the court in the third quarter in a wheelchair after a scary incident where he took a hard fall on Tuesday night in the Pistons’ 123-121 overtime win over the Heat in the NBA Cup opener for both teams.
Hardaway was playing defense when he caught an accidental elbow to the jaw from Heat center Bam Adebayo that sent him to the ground.
While the initial contact clearly stung, Hardaway got back up quickly to get back on defense, but he quickly found himself back on the ground when he collided with Tyler Herro.
The force of the collision sent him hard to the ground, with his head appearing to slam hard on the court, which drew Hardaway to grab his head in pain.
The Pistons guard lay on the ground for an extended period of time while the training staff looked at him, and it appeared that he was bleeding.
Hardaway also looked to be woozy.
After a few minutes, Hardaway was seen being taken off the floor in a wheelchair with a towel over his head.
There did appear to be some good news after the game ended for Hardaway, with the injury appearing to look scarier than it turned out to be.
NBA insider Chris Haynes reported that Hardaway underwent a CAT scan that came back negative.
second half injury during the Piston’s OT loss to the Heat on
Nov. 12, 2024 in the NBA Cup opener for both teams. Getty Images
Hardaway will receive stitches.
At the time of the injury, Hardaway scored 11 points and shot 3-for-6 from the field in 19 minutes.
Detroit was leading 64-59 at the time, and they held on to win in overtime, 123-121.
Hardaway entered the game on Wednesday averaging 12.6 points while shooting 47 percent from 3-point range.
The Pistons, who improved to 5-7, will face the Bucks on Wednesday.
