Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Image via: Jed Jacobsohn/NBAE via Getty Images
His 34 points, six rebounds and five assists were good enough to lead most recaps. Williams, 25, has had little room to build rhythm lately. He appeared in 33 regular-season games last season, and hamstring problems cost him significant playoff time.
Sunday was not a normal night, so the box score turned into the second story. This season began with him recovering from a wrist injury picked up during Oklahoma City’s championship run. The return was moving in the right direction.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 34 points in Oklahoma City’s 108-101 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday night, yet the scoreboard was not the story by the final minutes.
Nothing more than that,” Gilgeous-Alexander said, fighting back tears. Jalen Williams went down late in the fourth quarter with an apparent leg injury and left the court on a stretcher. Teammates reacted at once, and medical staff hurried onto the floor. Afterward, the Thunder guard was close to tears when asked about his teammate. Oklahoma City stayed unbeaten, but the team had no update on how serious the injury is. Gilgeous-Alexander was asked about it after the game. The Thunder guard has played beside Williams throughout Oklahoma City’s rise to title contention, and the question landed hard. The answer was brief. “I just feel bad for him. The game itself was a grind. Oklahoma City held off Los Angeles by seven at Paycom Center, and Gilgeous-Alexander drove the effort through a tightly contested night.
Losing him for any stretch would test a team that leaned on him for 32 minutes in a tight game. Then Sunday happened. Hamstring trouble, a wrist injury and now a leg injury of unknown size is a lot for one player in one year. The Thunder came into Sunday undefeated, and Williams was part of that start while still working his way back from the wrist injury.