Utah Jazz player Taylor Hendricks suffers devastating leg injury, stretchered off the court

DALLAS (AP) — Utah forward Taylor Hendricks suffered a right-leg injury and had to be taken off the floor on a stretcher after landing awkwardly in the third quarter of the Jazz's 110-102 defeat against the Dallas Mavericks on Monday night.

The team said Hendricks fractured his right fibula and dislocated his ankle.

“He’s a great kid, and so we’re really just trying to focus on him — his health, keeping his spirits up, as he begins the road of his recovery,” Jazz coach Will Hardy said. “But these are the moments in sports that suck.”

Hendricks went down to the floor without any contact near the baseline beneath the Jazz’s basket, his foot landing in an awkward direction.

Hendricks, in his second season, had two points, three rebounds and two assists in 21 minutes making his third consecutive start after starting 23 games of his 40 appearances as a rookie.

“Super unfortunate,” said Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen, who struggled to find words. “We’re all here for him. It sucks that we lost, but he’s more important than that. We know how hard he worked the whole summer to be ready for this opportunity, so it sure feels tough for him. We’re going to stay here for him and support him.

“We talk about fighting through adversity, whatever it is. Tonight it happened to be that. Nobody can do it alone, so it’s staying together and trying to work through it and not giving up.”