Heat's Jones suffers neck strain, leaves court on stretcher
Miami Heat forward Derrick Jones Jr. left Friday's game against the Indiana Pacers on a stretcher after a third-quarter collision with Goga Bitadze.
Derrick Jones Jr has been down for several minutes and holding his neck after taking hard screen by Goga Bitadze pic.twitter.com/4pSTTVaaQq
— gifdsports (@gifdsports) August 14, 2020
Jones ran into a hard screen by Bitadze and stayed down on the floor for several minutes. He was moving his legs and arms before having his neck stabilized and leaving the arena on the stretcher.
The Heat announced that Jones suffered a neck strain after he underwent an MRI, CT scan, and concussion test. He will be re-evaluated over the weekend.
"It's obviously a little more than a stinger," head coach Erik Spoelstra said postgame, according to ESPN's Rachel Nichols. He added, though, that Jones was "already moving better."
Jones, the reigning Slam Dunk Contest champion, averaged a career-high 8.5 points per game during the regular season.
Miami opens its first-round playoff series against the Pacers on Tuesday.