Jalen Williams has been one of the pillars of the OKC’s youthful success story so far this season. The 23-year-old forward made his mark on the games throughout the season and OKC’s first-round play-off game against the Pelicans was no different.
During the game, Jalen Williams was involved in an incident with Pelicans center Jonas Valaciunas, which led to the OKC youngster letting out a bark. After the game, the OKC forward disclosed exactly what happened out there and said, “Jonas [Valanciunas] yelled in my face, and he picked me off the floor… I just barked I don’t know.” He admitted that he couldn’t think of any other response apart from that and praised the home crowd at the Paycom Center for joining in the barking with him.
"Jonas [Valanciunas] yelled in my face, and he picked me off the floor… I just barked I don't know."
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) April 22, 2024
Jalen Williams talks about his barking antics during the Thunder's win over the Pelicans 😁pic.twitter.com/xCmM90J9IO
In the third quarter of the game, when the game was hanging in the balance with the Thunder leading 51-50, Williams and Valanciunas went for the same ball with no one giving an inch. The Lithuanian yelled at Williams’ face as both of them clutched the ball close to their chest. The referee was quick to intervene to break the pair up and J-Dub removed himself from the scene while barking at the crowd.
The crowd in attendance had a lot to cheer for as their team took lead in the seven-game series. Jalen didn’t only limit himself to barking, though, as he kept up with his improving season.
Jalen Williams’ contribution in OKC’s win over Pelicans
Jalen Williams, in his 40 minutes on the court against the New Orleans side, scored 19 points while scoring from 8 out of 18 field goal attempts. He also dished out 4 assists and 7 rebounds in the 94-92 win.
This takes his PPG for the season to 19.1, coupled with 4 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game. The MVP favorite for many, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, scored a game-high 28 points while Trey Murphy III led the scoring for the NOP in the absence of Zion Williamson, who was sidelined after picking up an injury in the game against the Lakers.
Game 2 of the series will be played on Wednesday on the same court, and Jalen Williams will surely be ready for some more barking.
