– by Adesina O. Koiki
A Lot of Sports Talk editor-in-chief
Follow @Koiki_Sport Follow @ALOST_Official
OKLAHOMA CITY — Probably the only faux pas that Jalen Williams committed during his time on the floor on Monday night was admit to ESPN’s Lisa Salters during the postgame interview that he had no idea that his Thunder’s one-time 18-point lead during the most crucial game of the season to date had been cut down to two early in the fourth quarter. But, perhaps, Williams was so locked in at the task at hand that it was better for him not to realize Oklahoma City’s control of the NBA Finals was slipping away, and his virtuoso performance in the second half assured the Thunder of their opportunity to make history the next time they take to the hardwood.
Williams scored a playoff career-high 40 points, hitting almost every clutch shot the Thunder needed to make down the stretch as they held on to defeat the Indiana Pacers 120-109 to take Game 5 of the NBA Finals inside Paycom Center to grab a 3-2 series lead. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 31 points and 10 assists as Oklahoma City’s defense once again forced Indiana to another spate of carelessness with the ball, to the tune of 23 Pacers turnovers, while limiting an injured Tyrese Haliburton without a field goal for the entire contest.
Williams has now increased his scoring total with every successive NBA Finals game, and the Thunder needed every single point especially after Pascal Siakam drained a three-pointer with 8:30 remaining to cut Oklahoma City’s lead to 95-93. Though Williams missed a layup on the ensuing possession, that led to two offensive rebounds for the Thunder and the sequence concluded with Williams nailing a three to extend the lead to five at 98-93.
That shot was the start to an 18-4 run that finally put the resilient Pacers away. Williams scored eight of those points, while Gilgeous-Alexander had five points and two steals during the run, with both takeaways leading to layups: one for himself as part of an and-1 and an assist to Williams, whose layup gave the Thunder a 110-97 lead and prompted the Pacers to call their second timeout of the quarter.
The game unfolded eerily similar to Game 1 for both teams, as the Thunder raced out to a big lead mainly because of its defensive pressure forcing an alarming number of turnovers yet could not shake the Pacers as Indiana, once again led by Siakam and reserves T.J. McConnell and Obi Toppin, continued to chip away, even after Haliburton stumbled to the ground and appeared to aggravate a right leg injury in the first quarter. Unlike Game 1, however, when they only scored 11 points off 25 Pacers turnovers, the Thunder netted a whopping 32 points off 23 Indiana giveaways tonight.
*Editor’s note: Above the byline is the photo gallery from Monday’s Game 5 of the NBA Finals, with photos taken by ALOST photo editor Erica Denhoff. After clicking on a photo to enlarge the picture, press the left and right arrow buttons on either side of the caption to scroll through the rest of the pictures that appear on the first page, Also, click on the numbers and/or arrow appearing immediately below the picture grid to load the next set of photos. There are 79 pictures in total.
Follow @Koiki_Sport Follow @ALOST_Official
