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The Oklahoma City Thunder came into Game 5 of the NBA Finals against the Indiana Pacers with the series tied at two games apiece. The Thunder won Game 4 to even the series up, and as of publication, they held a slim lead over the Pacers in the fourth quarter of Game 5. It’s been Jalen Williams who has led the way scoring-wise for the Thunder in Game 5 of the NBA Finals, and he joined an exclusive club with his performance.
Jalen Williams’ 20+ point performance in Game 5 of the NBA Finals made him only the fifth player in the last 40 seasons to reach the 25+ point plateau in three straight Finals games before reaching the age of 25, the league announced. The other four players to accomplish that feat were Shaquille O’Neal in 1995, Dwyane Wade in 2006, Kevin Durant in 2012 and Kyrie Irving in 2016.
As of the time of writing, Williams had 29 points early in the fourth quarter to lead all scorers. He was shooting 10-of-17 from the field, 2-of-3 from the three-point line and 7-of-8 from the free-throw line. He also had five rebounds, four assists and one steal.
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After posting 17 points and 19 points, respectively, in Games 1 and 2, Williams dropped 26 points in Game and 27 points in Game 4. He was the Thunder’s leading scorer in Game 3.
Now in his third season in the league, Williams was named an All-Star for the first time in his career. He appeared in 69 regular season games at a little over 32 minutes per game. He averaged a career-high 21.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.6 steals with splits of 48.4 percent shooting from the field, 36.5 percent shooting from the three-point line and 78.9 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
During the Thunder’s playoff run to the Finals, Williams has been averaging 20.8 points, 5.7 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.5 steals with splits of 44.7 percent shooting from the field, 30.3 percent shooting from the three-point line and 80 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
