Jalen Williams (40 points) leads Thunder to verge of title

OKLAHOMA CITY — Jalen Williams wasn’t in much of a reflective mood after his Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Indiana Pacers 120-109 in Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Monday.

Williams batted down questions about his monster performance, which moved the Thunder within one game of the franchise’s first championship since moving to Oklahoma City, much the way teammate Chet Holmgren swats shots.

“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.

However, Williams’ teammates and coach had no issues heaping praise on Williams.

“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 just throughout the entire game.”

Williams finished 14 of 25 from the floor and 9 of 12 from the free-throw line.

During the Finals, Williams is averaging 25.8 points.

“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 good as he’s playing.”

While much of the postgame focus went to Williams, Gilgeous-Alexander also had a big game. The newly selected NBA Most Valuable Player finished with 31 points, 10 assists, four blocks and two steals. Gilgeous-Alexander had nine points and four assists in the fourth quarter.

Even without much offensive production from a hobbled Tyrese Haliburton, the Pacers cut what was 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, though, with Cason Wallace grabbing the rebound on Williams’ missed layup and flipping 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 stepped in front of an Andrew Nembhard pass near halfcourt and raced for a fastbreak 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 a turnover that resulted in points on the other end 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 left the game late in the second quarter with tightness in his lower right leg but returned shortly with a wrap on the leg. He was still affected by the injury, ending up with four points after missing all six of his field-goal attempts. Haliburton did contribute seven rebounds and six assists.

“He’s not 100 percent. 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 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.

–Field Level Media