OKC's Hartenstein makes season debut in win over Blazers

The Oklahoma City Thunder received some size back in the middle.

Center Isaiah Hartenstein returned Wednesday, making his season debut off the bench in a victory over the Portland Trail Blazers after the 26-year-old missed the first 15 games of the season with a fractured hand.

Hartenstein checked into the game with 5:10 remaining in the first quarter and scored his first bucket as a member of the Thunder not long after. He finished with 13 points, 14 rebounds, three assists, and four blocks in 29 minutes of action.

Hartenstein suffered a non-displaced fracture in his left hand during a preseason victory over the Denver Nuggets.

The 7-footer joined the Thunder in the offseason on a three-year, $87-million deal. Hartenstein started in 49 games and averaged 7.8 points, a career-high 8.3 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks in 2023-24, his second campaign with the New York Knicks.

Hartenstein was a candidate to start at center for the Thunder before the season began, with Chet Holmgren expected to shift to the power forward position. Hartenstein averaged 7.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 4.3 assists in three preseason matchups with Oklahoma City.

He brings much-needed help to OKC's frontcourt as Holmgren is sidelined with a right hip fracture while Jaylin Williams is out with a hamstring injury.

The Thunder sit second in the Western Conference at 11-4.