Nuggets’ Kenneth Faried stretchered off with apparent neck injury
The Denver Nuggets saw a disappointing end to a hard-fought contest in their 111-108 overtime loss to the Golden State Warriors on Saturday night at Oracle Arena. Yet the difficulty of losing a close game paled in comparison to worries about an apparent neck injury suffered by one of their top players in the closing moments.
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Veteran power forward Kenneth Faried was placed in a stretcher and carted off the court after an inadvertent collision with teammate Will Barton with roughly 15 seconds remaining in overtime. As players attempted to find rebound positioning on Klay Thompson’s game-winning lay-in, Faried received a slight push from Warriors big man Marreese Speights and entered the path of the leaping Barton. He made contact with Faried’s head as he fell. This video shows the full incident:
Faried was then helped to the baseline and helped to the ground as several medical staff members attempted to keep his neck stable. He was then placed in a neckbrace before being placed on a stretcher and carted off the court. The process took several minutes, well past the final buzzer and into post-game proceedings.
As of this writing, the best news is that Faried’s condition appears to have improved at least a little after receiving treatment:
Faried was taken to a local hospital from the arena.
The 26-year-old Faried is known as one of the NBA’s most ferocious rebounders and won a gold medal with Team USA at the 2014 FIBA World Cup in Spain. He performed very well on Saturday night with 15 points, 12 rebounds (nine offensive), and four assists in an impressive but losing efffort.
We will provide updates on his condition as they become available.
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Eric Freeman is a writer for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
