Оклахома Сити Тандерын сэлгээний хамгаалагч Алекс Карузо баруун шагайгаа гэмтээж тоглолтыг дуусгаж чадаагүй ч баг нь Финикс Сансыг 125-114-ийн харьцаатай буулган авч улирлын эхлэлийг 4-0 амжилттай болголоо.
Даваа гарагт болсон тоглолтын хоёрдугаар үеийн төгсгөлд Алекс Карузо хамгаалалтад оролцох үедээ Финикс Сансын довтлогч Диллон Брукс-тэй мөргөлдөж, баруун шагайгаа гэмтээжээ. Тоглолтын үлдсэн хугацаанд талбайд гараагүй тэрээр 9 оноо, 3 дамжуулалт, 2 самбараас бөмбөг авалттайгаар тоглолтыг өндөрлөсөн байна.
Оклахома Сити Тандерын хувьд гарааны тоглогчид болох Жэйлен Уильямс болон Касон Уоллес нар хүнд бэртлийн улмаас мэс засалд орох шаардлагатай болж, Чет Холмгрен ч мөн бэртлийн улмаас тоглолтыг өнжсөн хүндхэн нөхцөл байдал үүсээд байна. Гэсэн хэдий ч тус баг хангалттай хүчирхэг байж, Ажай Митчелл 30 оноо авч хувийн дээд амжилтаа тогтоосон бол Жарэд Маккэйн 18 оноо, Шэй Гилжес-Александер 26 оноо тус тус авчээ. Мөн төвийн тоглогчид болох Исайя Хартенштайн 15 оноо, 13 самбараас бөмбөг авалт, Адай Мара 11 оноо, 11 самбараас бөмбөг авалт бүртгүүлж тус бүр double-double хийсэн байна.
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The Oklahoma City Thunder’s mounting injury issues went from bad to worse on Monday night, when reserve guard Alex Caruso left the team’s matchup with the Phoenix Suns after spraining his right ankle in the second quarter.
With just under two minutes to go until halftime and the Thunder holding a 61-47 lead, Caruso rotated in help defense to try to contest a shot attempt by Suns forward Dillon Brooks. But as Brooks drove across the lane and jump-stopped, his right foot collided with the inside of Caruso’s right ankle, sending the veteran super-sub to the floor in evident pain.
After taking a few moments to get up, Caruso walked gingerly back to the Oklahoma City locker room with 1:34 remaining in the second quarter. Shortly afterward, the Thunder ruled him out for the remainder of the game. He finished with 9 points, 3 assists and 2 rebounds in just over nine minutes of action.
Caruso’s ankle sprain is the latest in a string of injuries to hit Oklahoma City’s perimeter rotation. Before Monday’s game, Thunder general manager Sam Presti announced that All-Star swingman Jalen Williams and just-extended guard Cason Wallace had bothsuffered serious injuries that would require surgical repair, likely leaving Oklahoma City — considered one of the favorites to represent the Western Conference in the 2027 NBA Finals heading into the season — without two members of its starting five for most if not all of the campaign.
The 32-year-old Caruso’s ankle roll didn’t look to be nearly as serious as Williams’ dislocated ankle and fractured fibula or Wallace’s torn labrum. Even so, losing another perimeter player for any period of time would take an even bigger bite out of Oklahoma City’s wing depth — particularly after the Thunder dealt rotation players Luguentz Dort, Aaron Wiggins and Isaiah Joe this summer in financially motivated transactions.
Even with Caruso leaving early, with Williams, Wallace and Chet Holmgren (right patellar tendinitis) all missing the game, and playing on the second night of a back-to-back set, Oklahoma City had more than enough firepower to handle Phoenix, scoring a 125-114 win. Ajay Mitchell and Jared McCain ably stepped into the starting lineup, with Mitchell scoring a career-high 30 points on 10-for-16 shooting in just 25 minutes of work and McCain chipping in 18 with four made 3-pointers. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 26 and centers Isaiah Hartenstein (15 points, 13 rebounds) and Aday Mara (11 points, 11 rebounds) both posted double-doubles for the Thunder, who improved to 4-0 on the young season.
