As the Pistons’ defense, Thunder teammates led to Jailin Williams’ career night

Oklahoma City Thunder center Jaylin Williams had a career night in Wednesday’s 124-116 loss to Detroit Pistons. He finished with a game-high 30 points on 9-of-14 shooting, including five 3-pointers, 11 rebounds, four assists, one block and one steal. After Thunder coach Mark Dayno praised Williams’ toughness after the backup center rolled his ankle in the first quarter before turning in the best performance of his career.

After the loss, a reporter asked Williams if he knew how many points did he have as it approached the 30-point plateau.

“I knew how many points I had, but I was really taking whatever they gave me,” Williams said. “I forced maybe two shots, which were bad shots, and I hate that I hit them. I just took everything they gave me. My teammates were passing to me, getting me a lot of open looks. Luckily for them, I got so many points.”

Williams led the Thunder team, missing All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren, Isaiah Hartenstein, Ajay Mitchell and Alec Caruso. Against the second-best scoring team in the NBA, Williams made a pair of free throws to make it a three-point game (108-105) with 5:06 left in the final frame.

While it was the closest the Thunder would come in the series, the effort was stunning, nearly erasing the Pistons’ 17-point lead.

“It’s resiliency. We just have a resilient group of guys. We went up 30, down 30. We were up 20, down 20. We were in tight games the whole game,” Williams said. “We’ve had guys out. So we’ve been in a lot of different situations. And I think no matter what situation we’re in, we’re going to go the same way. We’re going to go out on the field and leave it on the field. We’re going to play defense. We’re going to play hard.

“We’re going to do things like that. I think the fact that we’re a team where we do the same things no matter who’s in the game – that’s what gives us a chance in every game.”

The The Thunder’s lead in the Western Conference standings has shrunk at 2.0 games ahead of the San Antonio Spurs.

Marc Daigneault’s ‘Unreal’ Support for Jaelyn Williams

Head coach Mark Daigneault presented flowers to Thunder’s Jaylin Williams at a career milestone when he scored a career-high 30 points. Daigneault says it’s a testament to how his offense was flowing via Williams, who took full advantage of his opportunities against the Pistons’ second-ranked defense.

“He was unreal tonight. Great toughness and obviously great offense — I think it’s a career highlight for him,” Daigneault said. “We ran through him against a team that really presses, similar to what we’ve had to do lately. He was a big help for us again tonight.”

The Thunder will host the Nuggets at the Pike Center on Friday.