Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Drops 37 and the Thunder Just Took Control, But Now They're Sweating Jalen Williams' Hamstring

Oklahoma City is up 2-0 in the first round, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander just put on a clinic. But the Thunder might've paid a brutal price for that dominance on Wednesday night.

Gilgeous-Alexander scored 37 points and dished out nine assists to lead Oklahoma City past Phoenix 120-107 at home, giving the Thunder a commanding 2-0 series lead. The problem? Jalen Williams went down with a left hamstring injury midway through the third quarter and didn't return. Williams pulled up during a drive, grabbed at his hamstring, and that was it. He's already missed two long stretches this season with injuries to his right wrist and right hamstring. This is getting serious.

Gilgeous-Alexander Found His Stroke When It Mattered

After missing his first three shots on Wednesday, Gilgeous-Alexander caught fire. He went 7 of 10 the rest of the first half and finished 13 of 25 from the field. That's a massive bounce-back from Game 1, where he went 5 of 18. In the third quarter alone, he had 12 points and four assists while Chet Holmgren was absolutely everywhere. Holmgren grabbed rebounds on each of Oklahoma City's first three possessions of the half, finishing with 19 points, eight rebounds, and four blocks overall.

The Thunder just took over in that third quarter. They ran a 13-2 stretch to end the period and pushed their lead to 26 early in the fourth. Phoenix made a little noise late, cutting it to 10 with nearly four minutes left, but Ajay Mitchell hit a three-pointer right out of a timeout to slam the door. Brooks scored 13 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter for the Suns, while Devin Booker finished with 22 and Jalen Green had 21.

Williams Was Rolling Before the Injury

Before he got hurt, Williams looked unstoppable. He had 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting with four assists in just 23 minutes. That's the kind of efficiency Oklahoma City needs, especially since he was already limited to 33 games in the regular season due to injuries. Now the question is whether he'll be available for Game 3 in Phoenix on Saturday, and if not, how much deeper into the postseason this injury sets the Thunder back.

Oklahoma City has control of this series, no question. But the injury bug is knocking, and that's the real story heading into the weekend.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.