Gruesome Jalen Williams leg injury mars Thunder win over Clippers

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 34 points to lead Oklahoma City to a 108-101 home win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Oct 25 that was marred by a gruesome leg injury to Thunder star Jalen Williams.

With 1:14 remaining in the fourth quarter, Williams went up for a dunk and landed hard and awkwardly on his left leg on what was ruled a flagrant 1 foul by Kris Dunn after video review.

Williams started to try to get up after the fall, but teammate Chet Holmgren motioned for him to remain down. Williams was eventually carted off on a stretcher, offering a thumbs-up to the crowd as they chanted his nickname “J-Dub”.

Williams, 25, was limited to just 33 regular-season games last season and missed much of Oklahoma City’s run to the Western Conference Finals. The shooting guard/forward was the third rotation player injured in the game for the team.

The Thunder did not announce a diagnosis on Williams’ injury, with head coach Mark Daigneault saying the team will be updated on Oct 26.

“I just feel bad for him,” Gilgeous-Alexander told reporters after the game. “It’s obviously going to be tough without a player like that. But he’s not gone forever. He’ll be back better than ever, and we know it. We’ve just got to hold the fort down until he comes back.”

Cason Wallace left the game less than halfway through the first quarter with left shoulder soreness after a collision coming off a screen. At the end of the first, Jaylin Williams – no relation to Jaylen – exited with right wrist soreness.

After Jalen Williams left the game, Gilgeous-Alexander hit a pair of free throws in his place to extend the lead to six and then hit another free throw on the next possession to virtually put the game away.

Oklahoma City have won three consecutive games to start the season.

A game after Gilgeous-Alexander’s NBA-record streak of scoring 20 or more points came to an end, the back-to-back NBA Most Valuable Player did not have a problem reaching that mark with a 16-point third quarter.

Gilgeous-Alexander finished 13-of-26 from the floor and 7-of-8 from the free- throw line.

Darius Garland led the Clippers with 16 points and 11 assists.

The Clippers went up 64-57 on Garland’s 3-pointer midway through the third quarter.

Oklahoma City’s bench then fueled a 20-10 run to put the Thunder back in front. Alex Caruso had five points, two assists and a steal in the stretch including hitting a game-tying 3-pointer.

Nine of Oklahoma City’s points during the stretch came off turnovers. Ajay Mitchell scored 18 points off the bench in the win while Isaiah Hartenstein had 12 points and 12 rebounds.

The Thunder scored 38 points off 26 Clippers turnovers. The game was the first of a back-to-back for Oklahoma City. REUTERS