Jazz forward Joe Ingles tears ACL, out for remainder of season
Utah Jazz veteran Joe Ingles suffered a torn ACL in his left knee after brutal non-contact injury on Sunday night against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
In the second quarter of the Jazz's 126-106 loss at the Target Center, Ingles went to drive to the hoop against Jordan McLaughlin. As Ingles reached the paint and planted with his left leg, his left knee completely gave out — which sent him tumbling to the court in pain.
Ingles remained down for several minutes, and a stretcher was brought out for him. He eventually got up on his own and was helped off the court.
Ingles will have surgery in the next few weeks with an expected recovery timeline extending into the start of next season, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported. Ingles is a free agent after this season.
On surgery: Ingles will need to get a range of motion back in his left knee before surgery and that could take more than two weeks, but it's a fluid timeline. Recovery and a return to play will certainly extend into the 2022-2023 season.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 31, 2022
Warning: This video contains a graphic knee injury.
The replay of the Ingles knee injury. https://t.co/cxkioAtSvv
— Andy Larsen (@andyblarsen) January 31, 2022
Ingles finished with three assists and three rebounds in 12 minutes before the injury.
Ingles entered Sunday’s game averaging 7.4 points and 2.9 rebounds per game this season, his eighth in the league. The 34-year-old has one of the more impressive runs in recent NBA history and has avoided serious injury for nearly his entire career. Ingles, who is on a one-year, $13 million deal, has played a full 82-game season three times and had a streak of 384 consecutive games played.
After trailing by just four at halftime, the Jazz slipped and were outscored in the fourth quarter by 13 — which allowed the Timberwolves to cruse to the 20-point win behind a triple-double from Karl-Anthony Towns.
Towns dropped 31 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists while shooting 10 of 17 from the field for Minnesota, and Jaden McDaniels added 22 points off the bench while shooting a perfect 9 of 9 from the field.
Bojan Bogdanovic led Utah with 23 points while shooting 7 of 11 from the field, and Mike Conley added 22 points. Jordan Clarkson was the only other Jazz player to score in double figures, as he dropped 17 points off the bench.
The Jazz have now lost five straight and 11 of their past 13. Coach Quin Snyder entered the league's COVID-19 health and safety protocols ahead of the game, leaving assistant Alex Jensen to run the team in his place.
