Tari Eason's Hit on Jazz Guard Leads to Season-Ending Injury

As if things couldn’t get any worse for the Utah Jazz on the injury front, the team lost another player in their game against the Houston Rockets on Monday.

Utah lost to the Rockets 125-105. Lauri Markkanen and Brice Sensabaugh combined for 55 points, but the Jazz were never able to recover from the hole they dug themselves.

Utah was down by 21 points at the end of the first half, and Houston’s lead ballooned to 33 midway through the third quarter. Jabari Smith Jr. led the way in scoring for the Rockets with 31 points, while Amen Thompson added 20.

An injury to Vince Williams Jr. made things even more painful for the Jazz.

Utah Jazz guard Vince Williams Jr. reacts after a play.Rob Gray-Imagn Images

(Rob Gray-Imagn Images)

Rockets forward Tari Eason hit Williams during a fast-break situation early in the second quarter. As Williams tumbled to the sideline, Eason proceeded to deliver a dunk.

Williams was injured on the play and was seen holding his left leg in pain. Replays showed Williams’ leg bending awkwardly backward after Eason’s hit.

On Tuesday, Shams Charania of ESPN reported that Williams tore his ACL and will be out for the season.

“Utah Jazz guard Vince Williams Jr. has been diagnosed with a season-ending torn left ACL, sources tell ESPN. Williams sustained the injury in a collision with Tari Eason in Houston on Monday night,” Charania wrote.

Sarah Todd of the Deseret News reported after the game that Eason visited Williams in the Jazz locker room to check on him. He reportedly said that he had no “malicious intent” and wanted Williams to know that “he was never trying to hurt anyone.”

Whatever the case, Williams’ season is over. In total, he played just six games for the Jazz after being sent to Utah from the Memphis Grizzlies as part of the Jaren Jackson Jr. trade.

Williams averaged 4.7 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.7 assists in his short stint with the Jazz this campaign.

The 25-year-old guard joins Jackson, Walker Kessler and Jusuf Nurkic on the sideline for the Jazz.

Kessler was ruled out earlier in the season because of a shoulder injury, while Nurkic is set to undergo a season-ending procedure on his nose amid “complications with breathing and sleeping since fracturing his nose a few years ago.”

Jackson, on the other hand, had a localized pigmented villonodular synovitis growth removed from his left knee. The Jazz have yet to rule him out for the season.

Utah hosts the New Orleans Pelicans at 9 p.m. ET Thursday.

This story was originally published by Athlon Sports on Feb 25, 2026, where it first appeared in the NBA section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Tari Eason’s Hit on Jazz Guard Leads to Season-Ending Injury

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