Jalen Williams saw the Oklahoma City Thunders with a key victory in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had a triple double of almost 40 points, but Williams scored 34, allowing the team to take a 3-1 series lead.
Not only was Thunder won just two points, but also struggled in Game 3, Small Forward’s contribution was very necessary.
Williams had scored 13 points in previous contests, so manager Mark Deanoo was pleased to see him make a “great adjustment” in response to the Timberwolves’ defense.
With his offensive production not guaranteed, the Thunder will go to some extent as long as Williams takes them in these playoffs.
Most of the time, the most valuable player Gilgeous-Alexander has scored at least 25 points, but Williams’s score is far more contradictory.
The Thunder’s second option was limited to 13 in Game 3. This is because the Thunder lost at 42, but he bouncing off well in Game 4.
“He’s still learning. He’s a young player and these are a wealth of experience for him,” explained Daenu after Williams went up 3-1 with the Timberwolves.
“In the final game, they did a good job on him. They forced him right and had him on his right hand. I thought he had a bit of a fight. He was about to fight with his left hand.
“Tonight he took what they gave him. He still found his crack and managed to get in both directions. He was in control of most of the night.
“He was never speeding up or they didn’t look like they were dictating anything. That’s something that a great offensive player can do. He was making great adjustments in the game tonight. I thought he was good offensively.”
One journalist asked Daigneault if he had learned anything from the Thunder’s 128-126 victory on Monday night.
OKC certainly deserved credit for playing very well two days after an embarrassing defeat, but the team’s “resilience or patience” was unquestionable.
That’s why Daigneault thought he was probably impressed by the performance of Game 4 on Thunder.
“I learned nothing,” he said. “This team is a simple bet, we have a very normal number of days that lead to it, and today we had a very normal shootaround.
“There was an internal sense that we came out. It was a very different game and it was. I didn’t learn anything about resilience or patience.”
