ATLANTA - The Timberwolves entered Monday's game with six players injured and one not feeling well.
The Hawks countered with four of their own injured as well. And then even their mascot got hurt during a 104-96 comeback victory.
Philips Arena employees wheeled a stretcher out after the first quarter, when high-flying, masked mascot SkyHawk hurtled through the air off a trampoline ... and ended up motionless underneath the basket after throwing down a thunderous dunk in which his wing -- or elbow, perhaps -- appeared to get caught in the hoop.
"It seems like whoever is around Timberwolves gets hurt," Wolves guard Ricky Rubio quipped afterward.
SkyHawk was helped off the court without needing that stretcher, but Wolves forward Derrick Williams went into halftime hurting under that very same basket after he finished the second quarter with a thunderous dunk of own.
Williams said he got the wind knocked out of him by a hit in the stomach, but replays appeared to show the contact from a contesting Hawks player was a bit lower than that.
Williams played on in the second half and was just fine, even if the Hawks mascot wasn't.
"I guess it's whenever we play something's going to happen," Williams said. "It's going to be an injury somehow, whether it's to our team, the mascot or something like that."