OKLAHOMA CITY — 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 had a player 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.
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
• 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 41, 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
• 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
• 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
• 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
• 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.
Cliff Hagan and Bob Pettit, Hawks
• 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.
