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The Oklahoma City Thunder star, Jalen Williams, was in the midst of a heated battle with the big man Jonas Valaciunas of the New Orleans Pelicans, getting manhandled by him, which sent the Paycom Center crowd into a frenzy. Moments later, Jalen Williams barked at the fans in an outburst, which he later explained was his only response to them.
In the third quarter, Jalen Williams had the hold of the ball for the Thunder, but at the other end, Jonas Valanciunas, who wanted the possession back for the Pelicans, lifted him along with the ball. The moment sent the fans at Paycom Center into disbelief at what they had just witnessed, following which J-Dub took a stroll on the court before barking at them.
Although the reason for the outburst from Jalen Williams wasn’t known during the pulsating game between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the New Orleans Pelicans, he cleared the air in the press conference afterward. J-Dub said, “He (Jonas Valaciunas) yelled in my face, and picked me off the floor. So, I just barked, I don’t know. It was good energy the whole time. I thought that was pretty cool. I got to bark with the fans, they barked back…. I didn’t really have a great response other than to bark.”
Here are the clips of Jalen Williams barking and explaining the reason behind it:
Thunder go 1-0 up against Pelicans after 94-92 win in NBA Western Conference Playoffs
The Thunder and the Pelicans put on a show for the fans at the Paycom Center in game one of the best-of-seven series. After the first half, the score was level at 43-43, but in the third quarter, the Thunder took a six-point lead, and they ended up defeating the Pelicans 94-92.
The second game between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the New Orleans Pelicans in the first round of the NBA Western Conference Playoffs will be played on Wednesday, April 24, at the Paycom Center.