Wolves' Julius Randle ruled out against Jazz due to groin soreness

Randle exited during the second quarter of Thursday night's game.

Minnesota Timberwolves forward Julius Randle reacts against the Phoenix Suns in the second half at Footprint Center in Phoenix on Jan. 29, 2025. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Minnesota Timberwolves forward Julius Randle exited during the second quarter and was ruled out for the remainder of Thursday night's game against the Utah Jazz at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City due to right groin soreness.

Julius Randle (Right Groin Soreness) is OUT for the remainder of tonight's game.

— Timberwolves PR (@Twolves_PR) January 31, 2025

Randle made a layup during the second quarter and immediately grabbed his inner thigh before being subbed off and exiting to the locker room. Randle had six points, a rebound and an assist before he was forced to exit the game.

The Randle injury leaves the Wolves even more short-handed Thursday as they were already without point guard Mike Conley, who was ruled out before the game due to a right thumb sprain. They also remain without Donte DiVincenzo (toe).

Randle missing any significant time would be a huge blow for the Wolves, particularly as they've been heating up in recent weeks. Randle is the team's second-leading scorer at 19.1 points per game, and he's also averaging 7.3 rebounds and 4.5 assists per night. Naz Reid would be the likely starter if Randle were to miss any time. Luka Garza was getting minutes, too, after Randle left the game, which was still in progress at the time of publication.