The Oklahoma City Thunder’s victory over the Clippers has been overshadowed by a horrific injury to Jalen Williams.
Luka Doncic has erupted for 52 points, joining some of the NBA’s all-time greats in the process.
And with seven games on the schedule today, there are plenty of big moments to break down.
This isNBA Wrap.
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THUNDER STAR SUFFERS HORROR INJURY AS SGA LEFT IN TEARS
The Oklahoma City Thunder have continued their great start to the season, defeating the Los Angeles Clippers in a tight contest.
But the victory was overshadowed by a horrific late-game injury to Jalen Williams, adding to an already tough night on the injury front.
With 1:14 remaining in the final quarter, Williams drove to the basket before being met at the rim by Derrick Jones Jr.
Williams landed awkwardly, with his leg appearing to get caught underneath his body.
There were immediate concerns over a serious ankle injury, with medical staff covering his lower leg as a stretcher was called onto the court.
Williams gave two thumbs up as he left the court, with the Thunder crowd giving him a standing ovation.
Jalen Williams was stretchered off after suffering a horrific injury against the Clippers.Source: AP
His Thunder teammates were left in shock following the injury, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander appearing to be in tears after the incident.
Following the game, Gilgeous-Alexander spoke about Williams’ injury and backed his teammate to return stronger.
“Yeah, he’s not gone forever. He’ll be back better than ever. We know it,” he said.
“We just gotta pull the fort down till he comes back.”
Back-to-back MVP Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 34 points, six rebounds and five assists, as the Thunder improved to 3-0 to start the season.
Interestingly, Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 27.7 points per game through the opening three games of the season.
With the NBA introducing stricter officiating around offensive players using their non-dribbling arm to push off defenders, we’ve also seen a lower than usual number of free-throw attempts from Gilgeous-Alexander.
Last season, the MVP averaged 31.1 points per game, whilst getting to the free-throw line nine times per game on average.
The stricter officiating could be playing a part in that drop, with Gilgeous-Alexander potentially finding it harder to dictate the positioning of defenders and create the contact that has helped him get to the line.
This season, he’s averaging just 4.7 free-throw attempts per game, although it’s still early days.
Against the Clippers, he also benefited from late fouls, with four of his attempts coming in the final two minutes as the clock ran down.
And the injury concerns didn’t stop with Jalen Williams, as Cason Wallace and Jaylin Williams were also unable to return to the contest after picking up injuries.
Wallace was ruled out after sustaining a shoulder injury following a collision with Isaiah Jackson on a moving screen.
Meanwhile, Williams was ruled out with wrist soreness and didn’t return for the Thunder.
The Clippers didn’t go down wondering though, with Kris Dunn producing a monster poster dunk on Chet Holmgren, whilst finishing with 15 points, four rebounds and six assists.
The Clippers have now fallen to 1-2 to start the season.
LAKERS SUPERSTAR ERUPTS FOR 52 POINTS
Luka Doncic has led the Los Angeles Lakers to a 132-123 victory over the Utah Jazz, dropping a casual 52 points in the process.
The Lakers superstar finished the contest with 52 points, ten assists, eight rebounds and eight three-pointers in a dominant performance.
Doncic had an incredible 39 points at three-quarter time before adding another 13 in the final quarter to help the Lakers breakthrough and secure the victory.
It marked Doncic’s tenth career 50-point game, moving him alongside Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on the NBA’s all-time list.
Luka Doncic erupted for 52 points as the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Utah Jazz.Source: AFP
Wilt Chamberlain holds the record with an extraordinary 118 games of 50 points or more, followed by Michael Jordan with 31.
Doncic also joined some elite company, becoming one of just six players in Lakers history to record three or more 50-point games.
That list includes Kobe Bryant, Elgin Baylor, LeBron James, George Mikan and Jerry West.
Meanwhile, he also overtook LeBron James for the most 40-point performances in a regular season game as a Laker, with his tally now sitting at 19, surpassing James’ 18.
JJ Redick went full 21st century with his comments postgame, summing up Doncic’s incredible performance.
“When he’s in the flow state, he gets into showman mode,” Redick said.
When asked about the ‘showman mode’ Redick was referring to, Doncic spoke about how much he enjoys putting on a show.
“It means everything to me,” Doncic said postgame.
Doncic’s running mate Austin Reaves was also impressive in the contest, finishing with 29 points, four assists and one rebound.
However, Reaves drew some criticism from the Jazz broadcasting team for his antics following foul calls in the third quarter.
“I don’t know why Austin Reaves is complaining after every call, every foul. That is definitely a foul,” the Jazz commentators said.
Speaking postgame, Reaves credited the team’s ‘no egos’ mentality as a major reason for their strong start to the season.
“That’s the beautiful thing about our team is there’s no egos; there’s no anything, you just want to win basketball games,” Reaves said.
“However that happens is the main thing.”
Aussie Matisse Thybulle finished with 11 points, one rebound and one assist, knocking down three of his seven attempts from beyond the arc.
For the Jazz, Lauri Markkanen finished with 28 points and six rebounds, while Keyonte George flirted with a triple-double with 24 points, ten assists and nine rebounds.
Ace Bailey also impressed, finishing with 17 points and 12 rebounds.
The Lakers have now started their new era with a perfect 3-0 record, as Doncic pushes for his first NBA MVP trophy.
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AROUND THE LEAGUE
Tyrese Haliburton has led the Indiana Pacers to a 136-109 victory over the Brooklyn Nets.
The superstar, who has returned from the Achilles injury he sustained during the 2025 NBA Finals, has been dominant through the opening three games of the season.
Against the Nets, Haliburton finished with 24 points, ten assists and four rebounds.
Pascal Siakam was also impressive with 21 points, seven rebounds and six assists, with seven Pacers players finishing in double figures.
The Nets struggled across the board, with Julius Randle their best contributor, finishing with ten points, seven rebounds and seven assists.
The Pacers are now 2-1 on the season, whilst the Brooklyn Nets who don’t own their first-round pick fall to 0-3.
Tyrese Haliburton continued his strong start to the season, leading the Indiana Pacers to a convincing victory over the Brooklyn Nets.Source: AP
The Orlando Magic have secured their first win of the season, defeating the New York Knicks.
A massive 40-point final quarter saw the Magic come away with a 111-102 victory over the reigning NBA champions.
Franz Wagner was impressive for Orlando, finishing with 23 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists, whilst Desmond Bane added 22 points and six rebounds.
But the Magic lost Jalen Suggs to a non-contact right knee injury, with the guard needing assistance from medical staff to leave the court.
The Knicks have now fallen to 0-3 to start their title defence, but Karl-Anthony Towns did everything he could to get his side over the line.
Towns finished with 22 points and 14 rebounds, whilst Jalen Brunson added 28 points and four assists.
The Minnesota Timberwolves are in hot form, defeating the Toronto Raptors 117-94.
Anthony Edwards continued his strong start to the season, finishing with 26 points and three assists in just 28 minutes of action.
His running partner LaMelo Ball played just 17 minutes in the contest, but finished with 15 points and eight assists, whilst Jaden McDaniels added 14 points and six rebounds.
The Raptors were without superstar Kawhi Leonard, and Scottie Barnes struggled to get going, shooting 0-12 from the field to finish with zero points, three assists and three rebounds.
But RJ Barrett was the pick of the bunch for Toronto, finishing with 20 points and two assists.
The Raptors have now fallen to 2-1 to start the season, whilst the Timberwolves remain unbeaten at 3-0.