Thunder win, Williams hurt
- The Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Phoenix Suns 120-107, with Shai Gilgeous‑Alexander scoring 37 points. - The victory came at the cost of Jalen Williams, diagnosed with a Grade 1 left hamstring strain. - Williams will be re‑evaluated weekly, creating an injury subplot despite OKC’s 2–0 series lead (Reuters; The Oklahoman) (reuters.com, oklahoman.com)
Oklahoma City took a 2-0 playoff lead over Phoenix on April 22, but Jalen Williams left the win with a left hamstring injury. (apnews.com) (nba.com) Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 37 points and had nine assists in the Thunder’s 120-107 Game 2 win at Paycom Center, while Oklahoma City kept control of the first-round Western Conference series. (apnews.com) (espn.com) Williams grabbed at his left hamstring after a missed layup in the third quarter and did not return. The Thunder said April 23 that he has a Grade 1 left hamstring strain and will be re-evaluated weekly. (espn.com) (usatoday.com) That puts a new question over a series that had tilted hard toward Oklahoma City. The Thunder won 64 regular-season games, opened the playoffs with two home wins, and now head to Phoenix for Game 3 on Saturday, April 25. (espn.com 1) (espn.com 2) Williams was an All-Star this season and one of the team’s main scorers next to Gilgeous-Alexander. In Game 1 against the Suns, he scored 26 points as Oklahoma City opened the series with a 131-104 win. (basketball-reference.com) (espn.com) A Grade 1 hamstring strain is the mildest level of muscle strain, but it still sidelines players because sprinting and stopping can aggravate it. NBC Sports, citing injury analyst Jeff Stotts, said the average absence for that injury is about 12 days. (nbcsports.com) Phoenix still has Devin Booker and Kevin Durant, but the Suns now need to erase an 0-2 deficit after dropping both games in Oklahoma City. Teams that win the first two games of a best-of-seven NBA series have historically advanced the vast majority of the time. (espn.com) (nba.com) For the Thunder, the score gave them control of the series. Williams’ hamstring turned the next week into a test of how much control they can keep. (usatoday.com) (nbcsports.com)
