Jalen Williams struggled with his scoring in last season’s playoffs against the Dallas Mavericks and again at points in the second round this season against the Denver Nuggets, but he had a breakthrough 34 points in a 128-126 win by the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals on Monday. Williams shot 13-for-24 from the floor and 6-of-9 on three-pointers as he hit multiple late fourth quarter shots to preserve Oklahoma City’s lead.
“I feel like if you’re not really good, you’re probably not going to have any [scrutiny], so just play with it, just keep going,” Williams said. “A lot of people that are talking about me can’t do what I do, and I know that, and I think that gives me a lot of confidence to just go out there and do whatever the team needs.”
“He was special,” Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said. “He was really good tonight from start to finish. He picked his spots great. He was aggressive. He stepped into everything. He was who he is. He’s gotten all these awards for good reason. He proved it tonight.”
“He’s still learning. He’s a young player still, and these are rich experiences for him,” Mark Daigneault said of Williams. “Tonight, he just kind of took what they gave him. He still found his cracks. He’s still able to get in both directions, but he just was in control most of the time. He never seemed sped up. He never seemed like they were dictating anything. That’s what the great offensive players can do and just a great adjustment by him tonight in the game.”
