Ajay Mitchell scores a career-high 30 as the short-handed Thunder beat Phoenix to go 4-0

Ajay Mitchell scored a career-high 30 points while starting in place of the injured Jalen Williams, and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Phoenix Suns 125-114 on Monday night to stay perfect at 4-0.

The win came a day after the injuries from Sunday's 108-101 victory over the Clippers turned serious. According to the Associated Press, Williams and Cason Wallace both need surgery that could end their seasons. Chet Holmgren sat out Monday with patellar tendinitis in his right knee.

Then the Thunder lost another one. Alex Caruso, playing extra minutes because of the other absences, was helped to the locker room late in the second quarter with a sprained right ankle after colliding with another player. He had nine points and didn't return.

Mitchell went 10 of 16 from the field and scored 18 in the first half. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 26 points on 11-of-18 shooting in 30 minutes. Jared McCain, starting in Wallace's place, scored 18 and made 4 of 7 3-pointers. Isaiah Hartenstein had 15 points and 13 rebounds on 6-of-7 shooting.

Oklahoma City led 67-53 at halftime and pushed the lead to 89-72 on a McCain 3 with three minutes left in the third. The Thunder's biggest lead was 22. They outscored Phoenix 50-38 in the paint and went 25 of 29 at the free-throw line.

Phoenix got 20 points from Jalen Green on 8-of-13 shooting, 19 from Dillon Brooks and 17 from Miles Bridges. Devin Booker was held to three points on 1-of-7 shooting, though he had seven assists. Jordan Goodwin made four 3s off the bench for 12 points. The Suns took 50 3-pointers and made 18.

Oklahoma City's next test is Wednesday at Dallas, against a Mavericks team that won in Miami on Monday. How the Thunder handle the rotation without Williams, Wallace, Holmgren and possibly Caruso is the story to watch, and any update on Caruso's ankle could come before then. Phoenix falls to 1-2 and hosts Denver on Friday.