The internet is breaking over Jarred Vanderbilt's gruesome pinky dislocation

The Oklahoma City Thunder didn’t just draw first blood on Tuesday night - they sent a deafening message to the rest of the league. In a 108-90 dismantling of the Los Angeles Lakers at Paycom Center, OKC seized the driver's seat in this Western Conference Semifinals clash, leaving the Purple and Gold searching for answers in the wake of a blistering Game 1 statement.

But the blowout victory was overshadowed by a dark cloud hanging over the Lakers' bench. The vibe shifted from competitive to grim in the second quarter when Jarred Vanderbilt went down. The defensive specialist, the coach JJ Redick relies on to do the dirty work, saw his night cut short by a gruesome right pinky dislocation with 5:51 left in the half.

It was a freak accident born out of pure hustle. Vanderbilt was chasing down Chet Holmgren on a fast break, gunning for a signature chase-down block, when his hand slammed into the backboard padding with terrifying force. The sight of Vanderbilt doubled over in agony near the Thunder bench was a total gut-punch for a Lakers squad already fighting an uphill battle. While he managed two points and a board in his brief six-minute stint, the stark reality is that his absence left a gaping hole in the Lakers' perimeter defense.

The internet’s reaction to Jarred Vanderbilt's gruesome pinky dislocation

“The Thunder's reaction to Jarred Vanderbilt's hand injury,” captioned by Bleacher Report to a clip posted.

“Whole bench went from locked in to ‘nah that’s not basketball anymore’ real quick 😬 you could tell even OKC weren’t rocking with that… hope Vando’s good fr 🙏,” one fan reacted.

“Damn that looks nasty 😬 hoping Jarred recovers quickly. Full dislocation?? Yeah I didn’t need to see that 😭,” another fan reacted.

“I swear when you get hurt and see other people’s reactions of your injury makes it feel million times worse 😂,” another wrote on X.

“It’s not even the injury, it’s everyone reacting like it’s life-threatening that upgrades the pain instantly,” one wrote.

“Bone definitely sticking out from that reaction,” another reacted. 

There is a glimmer of hope, though. Since Vanderbilt is a southpaw, the fact that the injury struck his non-shooting hand might just be the break he needs to claw his way back into the lineup sooner rather than later.

On the hardwood, the Thunder's young guns were simply too much to handle. Holmgren put up a towering performance, anchoring the floor with 24 points and 12 rebounds while acting as a human eraser on the defensive end. Not to be outdone, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander played the role of the maestro, carving up the Lakers' defense to the tune of 18 points and six assists.

The chemistry between the two was on full display in the first half. SGA drew Austin Reaves in like a moth to a flame before threading a needle-sharp pass to a cutting Holmgren for an easy deuce. Shai’s animated reaction as he spotted the open lane told the whole story: the Thunder are playing with a level of offensive fluidity that is borderline scary.

Now, the Lakers have to find a way to brush off this loss and punch back in Game 2 on Thursday. Whether they’ll have their defensive anchor available to help weather the storm remains the million-dollar question.