The Oklahoma City Thunder are nearly there.
Jalen Williams poured in a playoff career-high 40 points, along with six rebounds and four assists, to lead the Thunder to a 120-109 win at home in Monday’s Game 5.
Mark Diagneault’s squad leads the series 3-2 and can capture the franchise’s first NBA title of the Oklahoma City era in Game 6 on Thursday in Indiana.
“My mindset was just going into these games and not kind of lightly stepping in and just jumping in,” Williams said on NBA TV after his performance. “And I thought I’ve done a really good job at that – just living with the results playing aggressive.”
Regular-season MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added a double-double with 31 points and 10 assists, plus four blocks and two steals.
Pascal Siakam led the way for the Pacers, scoring 28 points on 9-of-15 shooting (3-of-6 from deep) with six rebounds, five assists, three steals, and two blocks. Franchise star Tyrese Haliburton, nursing an apparent calf injury, finished with just four points, all of which came from the free-throw line. Haliburton shot 0-of-6 from the floor, including four missed threes, after going scoreless in the first half of a playoff matchup for the first time in his career.
Williams is now the 30th different player with a 40-point game in the Finals, courtesy of Stathead. The late Jerry West did it a record 10 times during an eight-year span in the ’60s, though Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James sits close behind in second with eight 40-point games in the Finals since 2015.
“This is the biggest stage, but it doesn’t matter where he’s at,” Thunder center Chet Holmgren told ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt postgame. “He’s special. That’s Dub.
“That’s what we see … all year. It doesn’t surprise me, but I’m still impressed by it.”
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