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With eight minutes and 30 seconds playing at the fourth quarter of match 5 of the NBA final, Oklahoma City Thunder was in shock.
Once at the top of 18 points, the advance of the Thunder had been reduced to two. In what announced as a rehearsal of match 1, Oklahoma City seemed to be in danger of blowing a two -digit lead in the first artists returning from the playoffs, the Indiana Pacers.
Only this time, the striker of the Thunder Jalen Williams stood on the way.
After the pacers reduced the 95-93 score, the Thunder made a 16-4 race over the next two minutes and 55 seconds, pushing its advance at 14 before Win 120-109. And during this decisive section, Williams scored eight of his 11 points at the top of the fourth quarter, keeping the Indiana at a distance and leading the Thunder to a victory for a championship.
“Great strength,” said Oklahoma City coach Mark Daignault, when he was asked to describe what he saw Williams in match 5. “It was an incredible performance on his part, just throughout the match. He was really on the gas all night.
“He was, as, really courageous tonight,” said Shai Gilgeous-Alexander,, The regular season MVP. “He entered big games. I felt like every time we needed a blow, he did it. He was not afraid. He was intrepid tonight.”
Williams finished with a quarry summit in 40 -point playoffs, as well as six rebounds and four assists. He pulled 14 out of 25 on the ground, including 3 out of 5 from Deep. At just 24 years old, Williams became the fifth player to score at least 40 points in a match of the NBA final, and he could not have arrived at a more crucial moment for the Thunder.
“Many things that (Williams) has obtained in the match this evening are things we talked about earlier in the season,” said Daigneault. “He had no games like this in November, December. His accent on improvement led him to be the player he is at the moment.”
“In order to improve and be good in these moments – and I am in no way perfect in these moments – you can generate good habits when you have the right way to go and have a process,” said Williams. “I am extremely lucky to have a coach and staff and teammates who allow me to have these ugly games during the year and to understand my game.”
Oklahoma City needed Williams to improve not only earlier in the season, but also earlier in the playoffs. While overall, his playoffs impressed, Williams had difficulty in great moments.
In a defeat of match 1 against Denver’s Nuggets in the second round, Williams scored only 16 points on the shot of 5 out of 20. Later, this series, in a defeat of match 6, he pulled 3 out of 16 for only 6 points.
During the first two games of the final, Williams only made an average of 18 points out of 33.3% shooting – but he finally broke out with 26 in match 3. Since then, his improvement seems to have crystallized.
During the last two games, Williams has been invited to manage the ball more following the full pressure on Gilgeous-Alexander, and he replied with his two best games in the Championship round, lowering 27 last Friday before his 40 pieces on Monday.
The performance of match 5, in particular, is not a Williams expected so early in his career.
“To understand the opportunity we have, I simply try to play as hard as possible,” he said. “Everything that happens after that is where the chips fall.
“But I would lie if I said that I could imagine doing what I did tonight. I could certainly have seen myself here a long time ago, I did not think it would happen so fast and I did not think it would be with a group of guys that I am really grateful to be there.”
The Thunder was grateful to him on Monday.
