- Giddey is expected to play at the Paris Olympics
- Awaiting the result of a scan
- There may be doubts for the rest of the season
Boomers coach Brian Goorjian is anxiously awaiting the results of a scan after one of his stars, Josh Giddey, suffered an injury while playing for Oklahoma City in the NBA.
The Thunder guard sprained his left ankle late in the second quarter of the 134-115 win against the Los Angeles Clippers and failed to return to the court.
The 21-year-old had scored 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting (AEDT) on Friday before going down while driving to the basket.
Giddey is crucial to Australia's chances of winning a gold medal at the Paris Olympics next year.
In his absence, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31 points and Chet Holmgren (23 points) gave OKC the lead for good with a dunk he threw off the backboard to himself en route to ending Los Angeles' nine-game winning streak.
Australian basketball star Josh Giddey is injured while playing for Oklahoma City
The injury is not timely and the star point guard is expected to be ready for the Paris Olympics
With Oklahoma City trailing by a point in the third quarter, Holmgren pumped Ivica Zubac at the free-throw line, then caught his own lob and threw down a two-handed jam.
“I honestly don't know where it came from,” Holmgren said.
“That was like a move in the park… I guess it just happened.”
Holmgren's play made it a 13-0 run and the Thunder led by double digits the rest of the way.
Oklahoma City (18-8), second in the Western Conference standings, started their current three-game winning streak with a win over the defending champion Denver Nuggets.
James Harden scored 23 points and Paul George added 22 for the Clippers (17-11), who had not lost since falling to Golden State on Nov. 30.
Former Thunder star Russell Westbrook received a standing ovation and loud cheers when he entered the game for LA in the first quarter. He finished with 15 points and 13 rebounds.
Boomers coach Brian Goorjian will be sweating the fitness of his star point guard
Minnesota, the top team in the West, earned a 118-111 victory at home over the LeBron James-less Lakers.
Anthony Edwards had 27 points and Karl-Anthony Towns 21 for the Timberwolves, who tied Boston (21-6) for the overall NBA lead.
Anthony Davis had 31 points and eight rebounds for Los Angeles (15-14), who are 1-5 since winning the NBA In-Season Tournament.
In Milwaukee, Giannis Antetokounmpo had 37 points, 10 rebounds and six assists as the Bucks defeated Orlando 118-114 for their sixth straight victory.
Milwaukee (21-7) has won 15 straight games at Fiserv Forum, their longest winning streak in a single season since 1991-92, when they won their first 18 at home.
Elsewhere, Dyson Daniels contributed seven points, two rebounds and an assist in New Orleans' 123-104 win in Cleveland, while fellow American Duop Reath had 10 points and five boards in Portland's 118-117 home loss to Washington.
There were wins for Memphis, Chicago and Utah, which handed the Pistons a 25th straight loss — one shy of the NBA single-season record.
With AP.