Former Santa Clara star Williams overcomes shooting woes to help Thunder regain footing in NBA Finals
By CLIFF BRUNT
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Jalen Williams keeps bouncing back.
The Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star has suffered through poor shooting stretches in each of the past three playoff series. And each time, he’s recovered to help the Thunder win critical games.
After two rough shooting nights to start the Finals series against the Indiana Pacers, the 24-year-old forward out of Santa Clara found his stride.
In Game 4, Williams handled the ball more and was aggressive. He scored 27 points and made 8 of 18 field goals and 11 of 11 free throws. His success helped league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander explode for 35 points as the Thunder won 111-104 to even the series at 2-2 and regain homecourt advantage.
He had similar moments in the Western Conference semifinals against Denver and the conference finals against Minnesota.
Williams said he doesn’t worry about whether shots go in because his confidence comes from his complete game. He’s a willing passer and a second-team All-Defense selection.
“I work really hard on my game,” he said. “So there won’t be a game where I don’t shoot well and it affects my confidence to not shoot those shots my teammates need me to shoot. That’s the confidence I have going into it, and wherever the shots fall, they fall.”
Indiana has been good at adjusting throughout the season and the series under coach Rick Carlisle. The Pacers, as usual, will be confident in their preparation heading into Game 5 on Monday.
“Being now at this stage, I just think that we’ve had those games under our belts where the guys have come through when we haven’t done things well, and we’ll be able to correct it,” Pacers forward Pascal Siakam said. “I think that experience is there.”
Williams has no issue with correcting things, either.
Against Denver, he went into a three-game slump during which he made 10 of 43 field goals and averaged 11.3 points. He followed by scoring 24 points on 10-for-17 shooting in a blowout victory in Game 7.
In the conference finals, he had 13 points on 3-for-9 shooting in a 143-101 loss to Minnesota. He responded with 34 points on 13-for-24 shooting in the next game, a 128-126 win.
The pattern has continued in the Finals. In the first two games, he shot a combined 11 for 33. The next two, he shot 17 for 26 and averaged 26.5 points per game.
Williams changed the trajectory of Game 4, and perhaps the series, with his performance. The next step in his development is to maintain that high shooting level.
Thunder coach Mark Daigneault believes anything is possible with Williams.
“I thought in Game 3, his first stint was one of his worst stints of the series,” Daigneault said. “He catches his breath and reflects on that. He had a much better stint later in that game and then came out and was really big time for us in Game 4, not only his creation but just some of the simple plays he made to put his teammates in advantages.”