OKLAHOMA CITY -- Thunder star wing Jalen Williams' injury issues continued with an early exit in Oklahoma City's 122-113 win over the San Antonio Spurs in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals Wednesday night.
After leaving the game in the first quarter, Williams received treatment on his left hamstring near the Oklahoma City bench before heading into the tunnel toward the locker room.
The Thunder announced early in the third quarter that Williams would not return because of left hamstring tightness. Cason Wallace started the second half in Williams' place.
Williams sat out six games because of a Grade 1 left hamstring strain before returning for Monday's series opener. He will undergo an MRI on Thursday to determine if the hamstring has been strained again, a source told ESPN.
"He's going to get checked out," Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said after his team's win evened the best-of-seven series at a game apiece. "I don't deal in like hypotheticals, especially when doctors are involved. ... We'll see where he's at. We'll update him accordingly."
Williams, a third-team All-NBA selection last season who played a critical role in the Thunder's title run despite a right wrist injury that required offseason surgery, was limited to 33 games because of injuries during the regular season.
Williams sat out the first 19 games while recovering from his wrist surgery and then was sidelined for two extended stretches because of a right hamstring strain that he aggravated after returning before the All-Star break.
Williams got off to a spectacular start in the playoffs before straining his left hamstring during the third quarter of Oklahoma City's Game 2 win over the Phoenix Suns. He had 22 points, seven rebounds and six assists in the playoff opener, and 19 points and four assists in only 23 minutes before exiting Game 2.
Williams had 26 points, seven rebounds and three assists while logging 37 minutes in the Thunder's double-overtime loss to the Spurs in Game 1.
"Obviously if we don't have him, it hurts," Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said. "I still believe in this team though. We played a bunch of games without him, won big games without him. I still think we get the job done. But losing a guy like that, a caliber of player like that, no matter how good your team is otherwise, it hurts a little bit. And also [you feel] for him as just like a human being, he's had a tough year with injuries."