Jalen Williams wasn’t in a particularly introspective mood after helping the Oklahoma City Thunder take Game 5 of the NBA Finals with a 120-109 win over the Indiana Pacers on Monday night.
Brushing off questions about his career-best outing, much like Chet Holmgren swatting away a shot in the paint, Williams kept the focus forward as the Thunder moved within one win of clinching their first title since relocating to Oklahoma City.
“It’ll be cool to look back on down the line,” Williams said after scoring 40 points to give the Thunder a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series.
His teammates and coach, however, had no such reservations about praising him.
“Great force,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “That’s the word, and we’ve used that word with him in his development. When he’s at his best, he’s playing with that type of force. That was an unbelievable performance from him throughout the entire game.”
Williams finished 14 of 25 from the floor and 9 of 12 from the free-throw line. He is averaging 25.8 points in the Finals.
“He can shoulder a load,” teammate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said of Williams. “He does so many things for us as a basketball team on both ends of the floor when he’s the best version of himself. ... Makes a world of difference when he’s that good, for sure.”
Williams scored 13 points in the third quarter, helping Oklahoma City withstand a strong push from the Pacers, then added 11 more in the fourth as the Thunder pulled away.
“He’s one of those guys that you want to see succeed,” Holmgren said. “He works really hard, so you want to see it pay off for him, and we saw it tonight. Not only tonight, but we don’t get here without him playing as well as he’s playing.”
While much of the postgame spotlight was on Williams, Gilgeous-Alexander also had a big night. The newly named NBA Most Valuable Player finished with 31 points, 10 assists, four blocks and two steals, including nine points and four assists in the fourth quarter.
Even without much offensive production from a hobbled Tyrese Haliburton, the Pacers cut what had been an 18-point first-half deficit to two on Pascal Siakam’s 3-pointer from the wing with 8:30 remaining.
The Thunder immediately responded. Cason Wallace grabbed the rebound on Williams’ missed layup and flipped it to Luguentz Dort, who found Williams for a 3-pointer.
After making just three 3-pointers in Game 4 – the fewest in an NBA Finals win since 2010 – Oklahoma City sank 14 in Game 5.
On the next possession, Wallace intercepted an Andrew Nembhard pass near midcourt and raced in for a fast-break dunk.
The plays ignited an 18-4 run that helped the Thunder put the game away. Gilgeous-Alexander had five points, two steals and two assists during the stretch, which included four consecutive Indiana possessions that ended in turnovers, each resulting in points for Oklahoma City.
The Thunder scored 32 points off Indiana’s 23 turnovers.
“That’s the game,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. “We’ve got to do a heck of a lot better there.”
Indiana has averaged 18 turnovers in its three Finals losses.
“In all three of our losses in the series, turnovers have been a big reason why,” Haliburton said. “We have to do a better job of taking care of the ball if we want a chance to win Game 6.”
Haliburton exited late in the second quarter with tightness in his lower right leg but returned shortly after with the leg wrapped. He was clearly affected by the injury and finished with just four points, missing all six of his field-goal attempts. He did contribute seven rebounds and six assists.
“He’s not 100%. It’s pretty clear,” Carlisle said. “But I don’t think he’s going to miss the next game. We were concerned at halftime, and he insisted on playing.”
Siakam led Indiana with 28 points on 9-of-15 shooting, while T.J. McConnell added 18 off the bench – 13 of them in the third quarter.
The Pacers have dropped back-to-back games for the first time since early March.
“I thought the fight was there,” Siakam said. “We continue to fight no matter what.”
Game 6 is scheduled for Thursday in Indianapolis.
