Oklahoma City Thunder guard Alex Caruso was helped to the locker room during the first half of Monday night's 125-114 win over the Phoenix Suns and was later ruled out with a right ankle sprain. The injury comes at a difficult time for Oklahoma City, which is already thin after long-term injuries to starters Jalen Williams and Cason Wallace. Caruso was expected to see increased minutes in their absence.
Caruso came up limping in the final two minutes of the second quarter, with the Thunder leading 61-47. After the game, coach Mark Daigneault said the injury was just an ankle sprain, "nothing else."
The Thunder's depth has been tested all week. Williams and Wallace were hurt in Sunday night's 108-101 win over the Clippers and will require surgery. Chet Holmgren also missed Monday's game with patellar tendinitis in his right knee, meaning three starters are sidelined or unavailable.
Oklahoma City leaned on its reserves in the win. Ajay Mitchell started in place of Williams and gave the Thunder a lift with 18 points in the first half, finishing with 30. Jared McCain started for Wallace and contributed 18 points.
Source: ESPN NBA · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing