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Hoping to break up an alley-oop between Isaiah Hartenstein and Chet Holmgren, Jarred Vanderbilt was punished for his extra-hustle defense. Accidentally smacking the backboard, the 27-year-old suffered a gnarly-looking hand injury.
The Oklahoma City Thunder came away with a 108-90 Game 1 win over the Los Angeles Lakers. In it, Vanderbilt sustained a dislocated pinky finger, per ESPN. Seeing some of his bones sticking out as it broke skin, the gruesome injury caused the role player to scream in pain.
Catching a quick glimpse at it, the Thunder's bench reaction was very telling. Just awful luck for Vanderbilt. He had two points and one rebound in six minutes of Game 1 action before he sustained the injury.
We'll see how much time Vanderbilt misses, but the finger injury looks like it could keep him out for a while. He's been on the outside of the Lakers' rotation. But his perimeter defense helped him get some early minutes as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was subpar with 18 points and seven turnovers.
The Lakers remain without Luka Doncic. He's been out for over a month with a hamstring strain. For the Thunder, Jalen Williams missed his third consecutive playoff game with a hamstring strain as well.
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Jarred Vanderbilt suffers hand injury in Thunder's Game 1 win over Lakers
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