Brooklyn Nets guard Caris LeVert was taken off the court on a gurney Monday at Target Center in Minneapolis after suffering a serious lower leg injury in the final seconds of the first half against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
LeVert was injured while contesting a drive by Timberwolves guard Josh Okogie with 3.7 seconds remaining in the first half. Players from both teams were shaken up as LeVert received medical attention before being wheeled off the court in obvious distress.
The Nets announced that LeVert was taken to a Minneapolis-area hospital for treatment. Immediate information on the extent of his injury was not available.
LeVert is averaging a career-high 19 points per game in his third season with the Nets. Brooklyn lost 120-113 on Monday night to Minnesota.
After the game, Nets coaches and players were more focused on LeVert’s status than anything else, writes Greg Logan of Newsday:
“I saw right away what it was and tried to erase it from memory as soon as I could, but it doesn’t work like that,” said D’Angelo Russell. “It’s something that hurts. It’s hard to speak about.
“You don’t want to see anybody get hurt, but for us to see our brother go down that we practice with every day, that we’re on flights with every day, it’s devastating to the stomach. We can put up our prayers for him and step up and try to build off of it.”
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Recalling the scene in the quiet arena as medics tended to LeVert, teammate Joe Harris said, “I don’t think anybody talked to him. There were really no words. I don’t even think we talked when we came in at halftime. There was nothing really to be said.
“You could just feel the emotions of everybody. Guys were crying. It was really just that horrific to see. Like I said, the circumstances of everything, the type of person Caris is and what he’s been for our team, it just . . . you’re heartbroken and you’re overwhelmed with emotion to be honest.”
