Bumping off Scotty Pippen Jr., Jalen Williams swished in a transition pull-up 3-pointer. The rare outside bucket pushed OKC’s lead to double-digit points for the first time with a little under six minutes left. It was a much-needed self-made score.
Like an artist signing off on a painting at the canvas’ corner, the outside bucket was a nice final moment in Williams’ best playoff series yet. While Shai Gilgeous-Alexander struggled with inconsistency, he was the Thunder’s most consistent scorer in their four-game sweep against the Memphis Grizzlies.
Williams finished with 23 points on 10-of-21 shooting, five assists and four rebounds in the Thunder’s 117-115 Game 4 win over the Grizzlies. He averaged 23.3 points on 54.2% shooting in the Round 1 series, both were upticks from his regular-season numbers.
Along with Gilgeous-Alexander’s efficient 38 points, both Thunder players hit on timely baskets to extinguish any hopes of a Grizzlies comeback win.
Williams hasn’t been asked to be a closer much this season. That happens when you have the greatest point differential ever at plus-12.9. But the 24-year-old has shown he can reach 100 MPH on his fastball when needed. At the biggest stage possible, he put the final touches on a masterful Round 1 series that showed he’s good enough to be the second-best player on a title contender.
“My mentality. Just like every single game, staying in an aggressive mindset. When you have really good teammates and players, it’s easy to float and let the game go,” Williams said on the difference in this playoff series. “Just trying to be really aggressive for the whole entire game and making people guard me every single possession.”
The Thunder will need Williams to keep up this production in Round 2 against the LA Clippers or Denver Nuggets. The competition’s difficulty will only increase. They survived some scoring dry spells against the Grizzlies, but will likely not have that same luxury from here on out.
The biggest question mark heading into the Thunder’s 2025 NBA playoffs surrounded Williams. They needed him to be a consistent Robin to Gilgeous-Alexander’s Batman. Through the first round, you have to be happy with what you’ve seen.