Jalen Williams, back after missing six playoff games with a strained left hamstring, did not return for the second half of Game 2 against the San Antonio Spurs after the injury flared again. Cason Wallace started the second half as Oklahoma City played without
Oklahoma City’s Western Conference finals didn’t wait for a quiet correction.
Jalen Williams. who returned for Game 1 after missing six playoff games with a strained left hamstring. was again held out as the night moved deeper. In Wednesday night’s Game 2 against the San Antonio Spurs. Williams was not in the starting lineup for the second half after the Thunder treated his left hamstring.
Williams appeared to be getting treatment on the injury, then left the bench area and did not play in the second quarter. When the second half began, Cason Wallace took Williams’ spot in the starting lineup.
The Thunder later announced that Williams would not return to the game due to a strained left hamstring.
At the time of his early second-quarter absence, Oklahoma City still held a comfortable lead. The Thunder led 62-51 at halftime of Game 2, but the margin would matter differently with Williams sidelined.
The timeline has been harshly familiar for Oklahoma City’s guard. Williams returned for Game 1 on Monday night, scoring 26 points in 37 minutes in the Thunder’s 122-115 double-overtime loss. Wednesday’s Game 2 began with the sort of burst that fans had been waiting for after his return. He had four points in seven first-quarter minutes, including an alley-oop dunk with 2:12 left in the period.
Those early signs didn’t last.
Williams entered Wednesday having missed 55 of the Thunder’s first 91 games this season. Of those absences, 19 came from a right wrist issue. The rest—36—were tied to his hamstrings. The right hamstring cost him 30 games during the regular season. while the left hamstring cost him the most recent six during the playoffs.
With Williams now sidelined again in Game 2, the question for Oklahoma City becomes immediate: how quickly can it stabilize its backcourt rotation without risking more time lost to the same hamstring that already cost him a month of momentum in these playoffs?
Jalen Williams Oklahoma City Thunder San Antonio Spurs Game 2 Western Conference finals hamstring injury Cason Wallace