Washington Wizards rookie Carlton Carrington was wheeled off the court Monday night after suffering a scary head injury in their game against the New York Knicks.
Carrington, in the third quarter of their 126-106 loss to the Knicks at Capital One Arena, was trying to protect OG Anunoby at the line when he fell on Wizards center Jonas Valanciunas. When Carrington fell, the back of his head struck and he crashed hard onto the court.
Carrington immediately put his hand on the back of his head and covered himself as the play continued. They finally helped him up, placed him in a wheelchair and carried him off the court with a towel over his head.
The 19-year-old had six points, five assists and five rebounds when he left. He was ruled out of the game with what the Wizards called a post-traumatic headache. Further details regarding his injury are not yet known, although he will likely enter the league’s concussion protocol in the near future.
Carrington entered Monday’s game averaging 9.1 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game this season, a first in the league. The Baltimore native was selected with the 14th overall pick out of Pittsburgh earlier this year. Carrington, who is one of only two Wizards to have played in every game this season, leads all rookies in the league in both minutes and assists.
Although the two teams were locked in for three quarters, the Knicks pulled away in the fourth to take the 20-point victory thanks to a triple-double from Josh Hart. He finished with 23 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists while making 7 of 15 shots from the field. Karl-Anthony Towns added 32 points and 13 rebounds, and Anunoby finished with 18 points and eight rebounds. The victory brought the Knicks to 23-10 on the season.
Valanciunas led the Wizards with 22 points and eight rebounds off the bench. Alexandre Sarr added 18 and Malcolm Brogdon finished with 18 points and seven rebounds. The Wizards now have a 5-25 record after consecutive losses to the Knicks, which is the worst record in the Eastern Conference.