The Minnesota Timberwolves just can’t catch a break. Their tough 130-123 loss to the Thunder on Sunday got even worse when Jaylen Clark went down with a scary injury in the third quarter.
Clark had been having an amazing night, putting up 14 points and snagging four steals while shooting lights-out (6-of-7) in just 18 minutes. But everything changed when he went up for a layup against Isaiah Hartenstein.
He landed awkwardly and his neck snapped back hard against the floor. He immediately reported head and neck pain before heading to the locker room.
The timing couldn’t be worse for the Wolves, who are already dealing with a bunch of injured players. Their entire starting frontcourt is out – Rudy Gobert’s dealing with back issues, Julius Randle’s got a groin problem, and Donte DiVincenzo’s sidelined with a toe injury. Even Jesse Edwards is sitting with an ankle injury.
The game itself was actually pretty exciting on offense. Naz Reid dropped 22 points and Anthony Edwards went off for 29. But it wasn’t enough to stop Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who’s looking more and more like this year’s MVP. He put up another 30+ point game – his 33rd this season.
Things really fell apart after Clark left. The Wolves’ defense completely collapsed, giving up 42 points in that third quarter alone.
What makes this even tougher for Clark is that he’s already had more than his fair share of injuries in his young NBA career. Now the Wolves have to figure out what to do without him – and fast. They’re playing the Thunder again tomorrow night.
No word yet on how serious Clark’s injury is, but with head and neck injuries, you can bet the team’s going to be extra careful. They’ve got a brutal stretch coming up against the Thunder and Lakers this week.
The Wolves managed to beat this same Thunder team just a couple weeks ago – one of only ten teams to do it this season. But with their roster getting thinner by the day, they’re facing an uphill battle to repeat that success.
