Thunder forward Jalen Williams and Spurs guard Dylan Harper both left Game 2 of the Western Conference finals early on Wednesday due to hamstring injuries, according to reports from Tim MacMahon of ESPN and Michael C. Wright of ESPN.
Williams was on the floor for just over seven minutes in the first quarter before checking out and receiving treatment on his left hamstring. The Thunder announced in the third quarter that Williams wouldn’t return to the game due to hamstring tightness.
The hamstring in question is the same one that Williams strained earlier in the playoffs, forcing him to miss the last two games of Oklahoma City’s first-round series vs. Phoenix and the entire second-round series vs. the Lakers. The 25-year-old, who scored 26 points in 37 minutes in his return to action on Monday, will undergo an MRI to determine whether he has strained the hamstring again, a source tells MacMahon.
“He’s going to get checked out,” head coach Mark Daigneault told reporters after the game. “I don’t deal in like hypotheticals, especially when doctors are involved. … We’ll see where he’s at. We’ll update him accordingly.”
While Ajay Mitchell made six starts in place of Williams earlier in the postseason, it was Cason Wallace who opened the second half of Game 2 alongside the rest of Oklahoma City’s usual starters. Both players could be in line for increased roles if Williams is forced to miss more time. Mitchell went down late in the fourth quarter with an apparent leg injury and received medical treatment on the bench, but he said after the game that he just got hit in the thigh and should be fine going forward, per Joel Lorenzi of The Athletic (Twitter link).
The Spurs, meanwhile, had already been without starting point guard De’Aaron Fox due to a high ankle sprain and are now in danger of his replacement, Harper, missing time too. The rookie standout exited in the third quarter and didn’t return due to what appeared to be a right hamstring injury. He’ll undergo an MRI on Thursday in San Antonio, sources tell Wright.
Harper was excellent in Game 1 in Fox’s place, racking up 24 points, 11 rebounds, six assists, and seven steals in a season-high 47 minutes of action. In Game 2, he registered 12 points, three assists, and two rebounds in 25 minutes before being forced to the sidelines.
As for Fox, he took part in pregame warmups prior to each of the first two games of the Western finals and the Spurs were said to be hopeful about his chances of returning for Game 2, but he was ultimately held out of both contests in Oklahoma City.
“He’s just trying to play every day,” head coach Mitch Johnson said. “It’s a tough injury that he wouldn’t be playing with in the regular season. So, he’s trying to tough it out. He did that in Minnesota. He had an awkward landing. So, he reaggravated it. We’ve just got to make sure he’s in a place that he can be out there and compete to the level that he would need to in the game that we’re playing.”
If Fox and Harper are both unable to play on Friday, the Spurs would have to lean more heavily on Stephon Castle and veteran reserve Jordan McLaughlin. Castle has struggled to maintain control of the ball against the Thunder, turning it over 11 times in Game 1 and nine times in Game 2. Still, the Spurs remain confident in his ability to operate as the team’s primary ball-handler.
“Steph is a dog,” teammate Keldon Johnson said. “He’ll figure it out. We support him every step of the way. [He] turned the ball over. We all turn the ball over. It’s not just on Steph.”
As for McLaughlin, he averaged a career-low 6.4 minutes per game in 44 regular season appearances and hasn’t been in the playoff rotation, but his teammates aren’t concerned about the possibility of him playing an expanded role, writes Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News (subscription required). The veteran point guard had six points in seven minutes in Game 2.
“Every single time J-Mac comes in, he makes the right play, hits a big shot,” Spurs forward Devin Vassell said after Wednesday’s game. “As soon as he came in (tonight), he wasn’t even warm yet and he hits a three. He’s steady. If he needs to come in and play, I don’t think anybody is worried or concerned.”
