Memphis Grizzlies beginning guard Jaylen Wells was taken by medical personnel from the courtroom on a stretcher on Tuesday after the rookie made a fast-break dunk and landed arduous on his head from a midair collision with Charlotte’s KJ Simpson.
Wells was taken to the hospital by ambulance, however “he is doing OK, he has feeling, he is shifting round,” in response to Hornets play-by-play announcer Eric Collins. Wells’ father said his son was “awake and alert” and wished to know the rating of the sport earlier than getting X-rays and a CT scan.
Wells suffered a damaged proper wrist, his agent told ESPN.
Wells caught an outlet go from Ja Morant and went as much as the rim, when Simpson inadvertently undercut him from behind after attempting to catch as much as the play. The contact induced Wells to lose his steadiness whereas within the air and land awkwardly on his facet as his head slammed in opposition to the courtroom close to the baseline.
He was down for eight minutes earlier than being lifted onto the stretcher together with his head strapped in to limit movement.
The sport was delayed a complete of 23 minutes, together with warmup time for each groups. Officers referred to as a Flagrant 2 foul on Simpson after a replay assessment for pointless contact, which comes with an automated ejection. Simpson instantly bent all the way down to test on Wells after their collision and was visibly distraught whereas Wells was being tended to within the silent enviornment.
After the sport, referee Karl Lane defined why the officers determined to improve the foul on Simpson.
“After the assessment, we felt that it was pointless and in depth, and a reckless play by the defender to a participant who’s in a weak place with a excessive potential for damage, which he did have a excessive potential for damage,” Lane said. “We felt that was sufficient for a Flagrant 2.”
A 2024 second-round draft select of Washington State, Wells has but to overlook a recreation for Memphis whereas beginning 74 of 79 video games. The 6-foot-7 Wells entered Tuesday’s recreation with averages of 10.5 factors, 3.4 rebounds and 1.7 assists per recreation.
The Grizzlies beat the Hornets 124-100 to maneuver right into a tie for fourth place within the Western Convention standings.
The Related Press contributed to this report.
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