Ford Taken Out On Stretcher In Raptors Win Over Hawks
Posted December 11, 2007 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The Raptors beat the Atlanta Hawks Tuesday night, but may have lost one of their key players for the foreseeable future.
Starting point guard T.J. Ford was taken off the court on a stretcher following a hard foul late in Tuesday’s 100-88 win and Atlanta rookie Al Horford was ejected following the flagrant foul with 1:32 left in the game. Ford had been enjoying a great game until that point, scoring 26 points and headed toward a breakaway basket when the contact was made.
When Horford hit the guard’s face with his hand as he elevated to block the shot, and Ford landed hard, with his head bouncing off the floor.
There was immediate concern because Ford missed the 2004-05 season following neck surgery and Raps coach Sam Mitchell wasted no time reacting angrily following the foul. Soon the Raptors players huddled in prayer. Ford was conscious while being taken away, but didn’t appear to move after he landed.
The injury to Ford took the wind out of the sails for a Toronto team that led 69-68 entering the final quarter but stretched the lead to 82-71 before putting the game on ice.
In his second game back after missing five with a groin injury, Chris Bosh had 20 points and 13 rebounds for Toronto.
Atlanta showed a great deal of energy in the early stages, opening up a 37-30 lead midway through the second quarter. The Raptors eventually responded however, closing the half on a 24-6 run for a 54-43 lead.
Toronto will need to regroup quickly. They head home to host the Dallas Mavericks Wednesday night at the Air Canada Centre, almost certainly without the speedy Ford in the lineup.
