Oklahoma City’s win over the Clippers came with a scare late in the fourth quarter, when Jalen Williams went up for a high-rising dunk and came down awkwardly on his leg.
The reaction on the floor was immediate. Multiple players responded at once, the Thunder medical staff rushed in, and a short time later Williams was carted off by team medical personnel with an apparent stint on his leg. Before leaving, he gave the crowd two thumbs up.
The exit only added to a frustrating injury stretch for Williams. He spent much of last season dealing with various injuries, opened this year sidelined by a wrist issue from the team’s Finals run, and then battled hamstring problems on and off that kept him out for much of the postseason.
Before leaving in the final minutes, Williams had played 32 minutes against the Clippers. He finished with 8 points on 3-for-8 shooting, along with five assists, two steals, three turnovers and a block. It was the Thunder’s third game of the season.
No official update on his status has been released.
Any absence from Williams would be a major hit for Oklahoma City. As one of the team’s “Big Three,” he has been central to the Thunder’s two-way identity, giving them scoring and elite defense after earning an All-Defense selection. Through two games this season, he had averaged 16.5 points on 39% shooting.
Even with the injury concern, the Thunder finished off the Clippers by a handful of points and improved to 3-0, with earlier wins over the Spurs and Nuggets.
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Alex Caruso Is Already Becoming Vital To The Thunders Early Formula
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Carusos value goes beyond the box score, but the box score has shown his fingerprints, too, with recent games bringing contributions in points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks. For a young Thunder team trying to establish its early formula, that blend of toughness, versatility and leadership is exactly the sort of edge that tends to matter more as the schedule gets longer. [Read more 🡒]