


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 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 & 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 & LeBron James, Cavs
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 & 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 & Jerry West, Lakers
West’s name pops into the list again, this time with Wilt Chamberlain in the Lakers’ 1970 finals appearance against the 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 & 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.
Cliff Hagan & 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.