WATCH: Tim Hardaway Jr., who was in immense pain, taken off the court in a wheelchair after he took an elbow in the face during Heat game

Detroit Piston forward Tim Hardaway Jr. suffered a brutal injury after double blows to his head led to his wheelchair exit.

WATCH: Tim Hardaway Jr., who was in immense pain, taken off the court in a wheelchair after he took an elbow in the face during Heat game

Tim Hardaway Jr. suffers head injury

Detroit Pistons forward Tim Hardaway Jr. faced a frightening moment during Tuesday night’s game against the Miami Heat. During the Pistons 121-123 thrilling victory over the Heat, Hardaway Jr. had to leave the game after suffering a devastating injury.

Midway through the third quarter, Tim Hardaway Jr. was in the middle of defending a possession. During this, he caught an inadvertent elbow to the head from Bam Adebayo. The impact sent him crashing to the floor in visible pain, but he got back up, to continue the possession.

YouTube video

Moments later, however, he collided hard with Tyler Herro on a drive-in, taking yet another hit to the head as he crashed to the floor. Following his second hit to the head in a matter of seconds, Tim Hardaway Jr. was unable to get up on his own power.

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Unable to stand, Hardaway was wheeled off the court as fans and teammates watched on. After the game, NBA insider Chris Haynes provided some relief with news that Hardaway’s CAT scan came back negative. However, Hardaway Jr. was treated for the injuries to his head with stiches to the front and back.

Hardaway was performing well before the incident, scoring 11 points in his 19 minutes on the court. Since joining the Pistons from the Dallas Mavericks in an offseason trade, he’s been a consistent presence, averaging 12.6 points and shooting 47 percent from beyond the arc.

As for his return, there is no clear timeline about his rehabilitation process or injury recovery as of yet. The Pistons will surely miss his presence after their hot start to the season.

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While Tim Hardaway Jr.’s injury cast a shadow over the game, the Pistons found a way to come out on top. However, this was in part due to a costly mistake by Miami’s head coach, Erik Spoelstra. With only 1.1 seconds left in overtime and the game tied, Spoelstra called a timeout that the Heat didn’t have. This led to a technical foul, allowing Malik Beasley to step up and sink the game-winning free throws.

Following the game, Spoelstra addressed his blunder which led to the Heat losing the game.

I just made a serious mental error there at the end. That’s on me. I feel horrible about it. There’s really no excuse for that. I’m 17 years in… I just got emotional and reactive on that and I just made a horrendous mistake.

Erik Spoelstra said in the postgame press conference
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Spoelstra was visibly frustrated after the game, taking full responsibility for the blunder. He explained that he acted in the heat of the moment, overcome by the intensity of the game, and ultimately cost his team a shot at double overtime. The Pistons ultimately came out on top, despite the absence of their sharpshooting wing, Tim Hardaway Jr.