OKC's Jalen Williams and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander enter NBA Finals lore with Game 5 scoring spree
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Jerry West and Elgin Baylor did it often. Kyrie Irving and LeBron James did it a couple of times. Magic Johnson and Jamaal Wilkes were among those who did it once.
And now, Jalen Williams and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander have entered NBA lore.
Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Monday night marked just the 14th time in league history that a game saw somebody score at least 40 points in a title-round game while one of his teammates scored at least 30.
Williams had 40 and Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 31 in Oklahoma City's 120-109 win over Indiana, a victory that gave the Thunder a 3-2 lead in the series.
'These guys are really good players,' Oklahoma City coach Mark Daigneault said. 'Obviously.'
A look at the history when a team has a 40-point and 30-point scorer in the same finals game:
Jerry West and Elgin Baylor, Lakers
This 40-30 combination has happened 14 times in NBA Finals history. West and Baylor are responsible for half of them, and they made it almost seem commonplace back then — while hardly any set of teammates has done it since.
— April 8, 1962: West scored 40, Baylor scored 36 in the Los Angeles Lakers' 129-122 win over the Boston Celtics in Game 2 of those finals.
— April 18, 1962: Baylor scored 41, West scored 35, but it wasn't enough and the Celtics beat the Lakers 110-107 in Game 7 for the title that season.
— April 17, 1963: West scored 42, Baylor scored 38 and the Lakers beat the Celtics 119-99 in Game 3.
— April 21, 1963: Baylor scored 43, West scored 32 and the Lakers beat the Celtics 126-119 in Game 5. The Celtics would prevail in six games.
— April 17, 1966: West scored 41, Baylor scored 36 in the Lakers' 133-129 win over the Celtics in Game 1 of that series.
— April 24, 1966: Baylor scored 41, West scored 31 and the Lakers beat the Celtics 121-117 in Game 5. But Boston would win the title again, prevailing in Game 7.
— April 25, 1969: West scored 31, Baylor scored 32 and the Lakers beat the Celtics 118-112 in Game 2 that year. And once again, the Celtics would win, this time in another Game 7 and the 11th and final title for Bill Russell.
Kyrie Irving and LeBron James, Cavaliers
They did it in back-to-back seasons for Cleveland, both times against Golden State. The Cavs won the title in 2016, then lost in 2017.
— June 13, 2016: Both scored 41 points and the Cavs beat the Warriors 112-97, cutting Golden State's series lead to 3-2. This was the season Cleveland successfully rallied from a 3-1 deficit to win the title.
— June 9, 2017: Irving scored 40 and James scored 31 as the Cavs avoided a sweep by beating the Warriors 137-116 in Game 4 of that series. Golden State went on to prevail in five games.
Magic Johnson and Jamaal Wilkes, Lakers
They did it once, in the clincher of the 1980 finals for the Lakers against the Philadelphia 76ers.
— May 16, 1980: Johnson scored 42 and Wilkes scored 37 in the Lakers' 123-107 road win in Game 6 to secure the title.
Wilt Chamberlain and Jerry West, Lakers
West's name pops into the list again, this time with Wilt Chamberlain in the Lakers' 1970 finals appearance against the New York Knicks.
— May 6, 1970: Chamberlain scored 45, West scored 33 and the Lakers beat the Knicks 135-113 in Game 6 of that series. New York would win the title two nights later in Game 7.
John Havlicek and Bailey Howell, Celtics
Hard to believe it's happened only once in Celtics lore, but that's indeed the case. The Boston teammates did it against the Lakers in 1968.
— May 2, 1968: Havlicek scored 40, Howell scored 30 and the Celtics won 124-109 in Game 6 of that series, clinching yet another championship.
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Cliff Hagan and Bob Pettit, Hawks
Not the Atlanta Hawks, the St. Louis Hawks. Hagan and Pettit were the first members of the finals 40-30 club.
— April 5, 1961: Hagan scored 40, Pettit scored 30 and the Hawks lost to the Celtics 116-108 in Game 2 of that series. Boston won the series in five games.
___
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/nba
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