How Jaylin Williams helped Thunder win Game 4 against Pacers despite DNP

USA Today

19 hours ago

How Jaylin Williams helped Thunder win Game 4 against Pacers despite DNP
On the road, it was a group of a couple of dozen folks against thousands at the arena and millions outside of it. The Oklahoma City Thunder spent nearly a week on the road and successfully left with a two-game split against the Indiana Pacers to even the 2025 NBA Finals at 2-2.
The Thunder fought through a high-stakes environment. After they fell behind by 10 points in the third quarter, everybody within OKC started to slowly come around the possible reality of a daunting 3-1 series hole that puts them on the cusp of being on the wrong side of an all-time upset.
But the Thunder shrug their shoulders and moved onto the next play. They canceled out the loud Indiana crowd where they made a 10-point lead feel like 20. While OKC fans could overreact in the moment, the players aren't afforded the same luxury.
Several parallels have been made to the Thunder's Round 2 series against the Denver Nuggets. They were also down 2-1 before they gutted out a critical Game 4 win. Let's just say history repeated itself again. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander carried OKC across the finish line with 15 fourth-quarter points in a 111-104 Game 4 win.
Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault discussed their composure despite being thrown into the fire. He pointed out player who didn't even check into the game that did an amazing job of keeping the vibes high despite being the villain of an entire fanbase. And arguably, 28 other fanbases considering some of the social media reactions.
"I'm always impressed by our team. Great poise, great confidence, great connection. The communication on the bench I thought was outstanding. Most of the guys that weren't playing I thought J-Will had an unbelievable voice tonight in a lot of those huddles," Daigneault said. "When you're on the road like that, it's just you. That's your unit. Those guys did a great job staying in it because that was a hard game, a hard game for us. We could just not get a lot going, especially the third. Just to hang in there, just kind of showed who we are. I didn't think it was anything different from what we've been, but we definitely showed who we were in that situation."
Jaylin Williams has always been a locker room and fan favorite. He's had his moments in the playoffs, but has mostly stayed on the bench. Still, if he's your third-string center, that means you got one of the deepest rosters in the league. Even then, he's found a way to impact the game in an intangible way.