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Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star Jalen Williams attended Perry High School in Gilbert, Arizona, roughly 22.6 miles from where the Phoenix Suns were officially eliminated from playoff contention Wednesday night. After their 136-120 win against the Los Angeles Lakers, the Thunder beat the Suns 125-112 on the second night of a back-to-back. With Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Lu Dort, and Cason Wallace ruled out, Williams led the offense at his old stomping grounds.
Still, Williams didn’t need the nostalgia of playing at the PHX Arena to lead the Thunder to another lopsided victory.
“I didn’t really have any motivation playing here,” Williams said. “I grew up a Lakers fan. So, this arena is not really special to me. I think growing up here is cool. I don’t take it for granted for sure. There [have] been a lot of camps that I used to do here. My mom used to take me to Mercury games all the time when the Sparks played. It’s cool to come back into this gym and be able to play there. So, I definitely don’t take that for granted. I’m past motivation of playing here.”
For Williams, the former Lakers fan, the Thunder’s shorthanded starting lineup was enough motivation for him. He finished with a game-high 33 points on 13-of-23 attempts, seven rebounds, five assists, and three steals.
“I try to find other ways to be motivated, and tonight, Shai and Lu didn’t play, and Caso didn’t play,” Williams added. “So, just trying to find more motivation to kind of will us to a W.”
Chet Holmgren notched a double-double (22 points, 10 rebounds), Alex Caruso had 19 points, five rebounds, and a career-high five steals, and Aaron Wiggins added 17 points in Wednesday's win against the Suns.
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Thunder All-Star Jalen Williams’ revealing take on making All-NBA
Toward the end of his first All-Star season, Thunder forward Jalen Williams had a surprising All-NBA take on potentially being named to one of the three teams. Williams shared it after Tuesday’s blowout win against the Lakers.
“I haven’t thought about it at all,” Williams said. “It would be cool. I think 65 wins is way cooler than All-NBA. Both would be great, but that’s not what I’m playing for. Obviously, we’re playing to play way further than April. So, that’s what I look forward to. I don’t think that’s really something that I would be really bummed out if I didn’t. It would be really dope to obviously be on there.”
The Thunder will continue their season-ending three-game road trip against the Jazz on Friday.
