VIDEO: Ibaka busted open by Randolph elbow, returns to game

What hurts the most is the potentially thinned-out frontcourt.

Well, actually, that hurts the second most. The elbow to the face hurts the most.

The Oklahoma City Thunder lost another big man temporarily on Wednesday, with power forward Serge Ibaka taking a nasty elbow to the face from Memphis Grizzlies behemoth Zach Randolph.

Randolph rose for a layup as Ibaka defended, and Randolph's non-shooting elbow caught Ibaka north-south to the nose:

Ibaka stayed on the ground for some time, with Kevin Durant calling for the training staff immediately. He was taken to the locker room with a towel over his face, hiding the damage, though those in attendance confirmed that Ibaka was very bloody.

The team called the injury a lacerated nose and Ibaka was able to return in the second quarter.

The Thunder are already playing without Steven Adams, so an Ibaka injury would have left their frontcourt mintues to be split between Nick Collison, Kendrick Perkins, Mitch McGary, the out-of-position Perry Jones and perhaps Durant as a small four.