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Brandon Rahbar: Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray are good to go tonight vs OKC. Thunder missing Jalen Williams, Alex Caruso and Ajay Mitchell. Nuggets missing Aaron Gordon, Christian Braun and Cam Johnson. Neither team is close to full strength. But both teams have an MVP and 1st time All Star.
Brandon Rahbar: Jalen Williams, Alex Caruso, Ajay Mitchell and Isaiah Hartenstein remain out tomorrow vs the Pelicans. Cason Wallace is questionable.
Justin Martinez: Here’s the injury report for OKC’s home game against Toronto tomorrow: Alex Caruso, Isaiah Hartenstein, Ajay Mitchell and Jalen Williams remain out. Aaron Wiggins is questionable with right hip impingement. He’s dealing with the same injury, which was previously described as right groin soreness.
Brandon Rahbar: Alex Caruso (adductor strain) is out tomorrow vs the Bucks. Jalen Williams and Isaiah Hartenstein remain out. Some positive news: Jaylin Williams is questionable.
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But it still fought back against the Grizzlies, scraping and clawing for every bucket and board it could get. Even when it trailed by 21 points in the third quarter. And it ultimately escaped with a 117-116 win that was sealed by Alex Caruso, who blocked Cedric Coward's 13-footer in the closing seconds. Jalen Williams finished with season highs of 26 points and 10 assists in the win. It's a massive victory for the Thunder (32-7), which had gone 7-6 in its last 13 games. "That was great resilience by the team," Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said. "There were so many moments where we were trying to break through and something would happen that would put the wind in our face again, and yet the team just kept competing. ... To just continue to keep competing like that in the middle of the dog days of the regular season just shows the competitive nature of the team."
Brandon Rahbar: OKC players OUT vs Memphis Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (ankle sprain) Chet Holmgren (bilateral shins soreness) Cason Wallace (toe soreness) Isaiah Hartenstein (soleus strain) Jaylin Williams (heel bursitis) - Alex Caruso (back soreness) is questionable - Ousmane Dieng is back
Brandon Rahbar: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (right knee bursitis) is questionable vs Utah tonight. Alex Caruso, Isaiah Hartenstein, Jaylin Williams and Ousmane Dieng remain out. Brooks Barnhizer is no longer on the injury report.
“Last year, I feel like we went to the regular season and we had to earn our respect through winning, because we hadn’t done anything yet,” guard Alex Caruso told The Athletic, his eyelid purple and plump after taking a shot from feisty Warriors guard Pat Spencer two nights earlier. “That being said, a lot of teams probably didn’t show up with the same energy and same mindset that they do this year that’s coming off (us) winning the championship. “A lot of times, I think we’re not playing our best, at least not to the level that these other teams are coming in with. The mindset, the execution. Maybe their will to win is a little higher than ours, which shouldn’t be the case.”
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“It’s a lot more about us internally than it is outside factions,” Caruso said. “Last year, it’s like we were trying to garner the respect and gain the attention of being a really good team. “Now it’s about creating the chip on our shoulder for ourselves rather than this external chip that’s been put there.”
The Thunder have ruled out Alex Caruso (low back soreness) for Monday’s game against Charlotte.
Brandon Rahbar: Thunder improve to 28-5. 16-1 at home. 6-0 vs the East. SGA: 39 PTS/15-24 FG/2 STL Chet: 24 PTS/2-4 3PT/4 BLK JDub: 20 PTS/9 REB/7 AST/1 STL/1 BLK Wallace: 17 PTS/5-6 3PT/2 STL Caruso: 16 PTS/2-2 3PT/9 REB/2 STL Next up: Blazers in OKC on New Year's Eve.
The Thunder have ruled out Ajay Mitchell (concussion protocol) for Tuesday’s game against San Antonio. Chet Holmgren (low back spasms), Isaiah Hartenstein (right soleus soreness) and Alex Caruso (right middle finger sprain) are available, and Aaron Wiggins (right adductor strain) is questionable.
