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05/18 19:55 CDT Spurs rule De'Aaron Fox out of Game 1 with ankle soreness,
Thunder get Jalen Williams back
Spurs rule De'Aaron Fox out of Game 1 with ankle soreness, Thunder get Jalen
Williams back
By TIM REYNOLDS
AP Basketball Writer
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) --- San Antonio ruled starting guard De'Aaron Fox out of
Monday night's Western Conference finals opener against the Oklahoma City
Thunder because of right ankle soreness, meaning adversity hit the Spurs in the
much-anticipated series before it even started.
The Thunder, meanwhile, got Jalen Williams back in their lineup after he missed
six games with a left hamstring strain.
Fox spoke at the Spurs' morning shootaround session Monday --- "trying to test
it out," he said --- and was on the court again in Oklahoma City about 90
minutes before tip-off of Game 1. That second workout obviously didn't go as
hoped, and the decision was made that he wouldn't play.
Fox was averaging 18.8 points and 5.8 assists in a team-leading 33.3 minutes
per game for the Spurs in these playoffs entering Monday. The Spurs haven't
revealed any specifics on the nature of the ankle issue, simply calling it
soreness.
"It's one of those deals where it's not going away for as long as we're
playing, I don't believe," Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said.
The Spurs put Dylan Harper into the starting lineup in Fox's place, alongside
Victor Wembanyama, Stephon Castle, Devin Vassell and Julian Champagnie --- all
of them 25 or younger. The Spurs said it was the youngest starting lineup in
the history of the NBA's conference finals.
Fox missed the first eight Spurs games of the season --- and missed only three
games since. The Spurs entered Monday with a 7-3 record without Fox this season.
The Thunder went with what would be considered their typical starting lineup:
Williams with two-time Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Lu Dort,
Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein.
Williams missed 55 of the Thunder's first 90 games this season entering Monday,
including playoffs. Of those absences, 19 were for a right wrist issue and the
other 36 were related to his hamstrings --- the right one costing him 30 games
during the regular season, the left one costing him the most recent six before
Monday in this playoff run.
Ajay Mitchell filled in seamlessly during the six playoff games that Williams
missed, taking the vacated starting spot and averaging 21.2 points ---
second-best on the team in that span, behind only two-time reigning NBA Most
Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander --- on 48% shooting.
The Thunder entered Monday 27-8 when Williams plays this season, 45-10 when he
doesn't.
___
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/nba
