The Los Angeles Lakers lost forward Jarred Vanderbilt early to a gruesome finger injury on Tuesday night.
Vanderbilt went up to try to block Oklahoma City Thunder star Chet Holmgren at the rim in the Lakers’ Game 1 loss, but he missed and ended up smacking his right hand hard against the backboard at the Paycom Center. As Holmgren went to celebrate the other way, Vanderbilt doubled over and screamed out in clear pain while holding his right hand.
Vanderbilt was quickly helped up and off the court. The Thunder bench’s reaction to his finger said it all.
Vanderbilt sustained a full dislocation of his right pinky finger, Lakers head coach JJ Redick said. He finished with two points and a rebound in six minutes. He’s averaged 4.4 points and 4.5 rebounds per game this season.
It’s unclear how long Vanderbilt will be sidelined due to the finger injury, but it’s not a good sign for the Lakers as they get deeper in their Western Conference semifinals series. The Thunder surged ahead in the second half on Tuesday night to secure the 108-90 win. That gave them their sixth straight playoff win dating back to their NBA Finals victory last season, which matched a franchise record.
Vanderbilt is just the latest injury the Lakers are dealing with this postseason. While they just got Austin Reaves back from an oblique injury, star Luka Dončić is still out with a hamstring injury.
Game 2 of the series is set for Thursday night.
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