Indiana Pacers center Jalen Smith dealing with head injury after hard hit against Philadelphia 76ers
With just over six-and-a-half minutes to go in the second quarter of Tuesday night's game between the Indiana Pacers and Philadelphia 76ers, Pacers center Jalen Smith took a big blow from 76ers forward Marcus Morris.
Smith was slow to get up — the Sixers got a free basket in a five-on-four situation right after — and had to be taken back to the locker room to be evaluated for a head injury.
He didn't return to the game. Instead, he was taken to a nearby hospital for more evaluation.
"Jalen Smith was assessed after leaving tonight's game and the initial diagnosis is a head injury. Out of an abundance of caution, Smith will be transported to a local hospital for additional testing and evaluation," the Pacers shared on social media.
Smith finished the game with just 2:33 of playing time. The Pacers called a timeout at the first moment they could, and head coach Rick Carlisle yelled toward the officials after not calling a foul on the play that sent Smith to the floor.
"It's not easy man, but it just speaks like I said to this roster the one through 15. Guys have been thrown in different positions all training camp, having to guard 5's and guard the 1's, switching, doing all sorts of crazy stuff, I think that our sworn defense was big tonight, it was critical," Pacers center Myles Turner said of Indiana adjusting without Smith as well as Daniel Theis, per game notes provided by the 76ers.
Per Dustin Dopirak in the Indianapolis Star, Carlisle had no update to offer on Smith's status postgame.
Smith finished the game with five points and one assist. He has been critical to Indiana's bench success this season and is averaging 11.0 points and 6.0 rebounds per game, so any absence would be a blow to the blue and gold. At this moment, though, it is unknown if he will need to miss any time. The Pacers don't play another game until Sunday, so the reserve big man has a few days to recover.
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