Williams, Gilgeous-Alexander Propel Thunder to Within One Game of Championship

Cover photo: Oklahoma City Thunder star Jalen Williams lets out a roar during the NBA Finals. Williams scored 40 points in Game 5 on Monday night. Photo credit: Kyle Terada.

Monday night in Oklahoma City, the Thunder defeated the Indiana Pacers 120-109 to take a 3-2 lead in the 2025 NBA Finals. 

Jalen Williams, with 40 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists on 14-of-25 from the field, 9-of-12 from the line, and 3-of-5 from downtown led the Thunder, while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31 points with 10 assists on 9-of-21 shooting and 13-of-14 from the line. 

Williams was hitting from deep and hitting from the midrange, while Gilgeous-Alexander exuded his usual midrange mastery. The Thunder led 32-22 after one quarter and 59-45 at halftime and shot 46.2% in the opening half.. In the first 24 minutes, the Thunder received key bench production from Aaron Wiggins and Cason Wallace who both scored 9 points. Gilgeous-Alexander posted 13 points and 5 assists in the first half. Pascal Siakam led the Pacers with 10 points in the first half while Bennedict Mathurin scored 7. Mathurin did not score in the second half though and finished the game 2-for-11 from the field. 

The Pacers got things together in the third quarter, getting back in the game on the back of T.J. McConnell, whose midrange game was working and who did a great job in the lane and finishing. In the third quarter, the reserve guard scored or assisted on 18 Pacer points. 

McConnell, after shuffling his feet on a drive underneath the basket in the opening minute of the fourth, was subbed out for Aaron Nesmith with 10:50 on the clock. Curiously, he did not return until the 3:23 mark with the Pacers trailing by 14. 

It is understandable that Rick Carlisle would want to see if he could get Tyrese Haliburton going, but Haliburton finished the game 0-for-6 from the field with just 4 points. McConnell was the guy to stick with given the spark he brought and that the Pacers trailed by eight entering the fourth. McConnell in fact trimmed the deficit to five, 81-76, with 1:42 remaining in the third. 

But the Thunder were able to keep their distance in the fourth, with 33 points - 10 from Williams and nine from Gilgeous-Alexander - to the Pacers’ 30. The Thunder did a great job of defending Haliburton, not letting him probe or get inside. 

Bench production was solid from Aaron Wiggins (14 points) and Cason Wallace (11 points) while Chet Holmgren despite a 4-of-15 shooting night had 11 rebounds and blocked three shots. 

The Pacers outshot the Thunder 45.1% to 42.6%, but the Thunder made more triples, 14 on 32 attempts vs. 11 on 30 attempts. The Thunder made 26-of-32 from the line, where the Pacers made 24-of-30. The Pacers outrebounded the Thunder 50-45, with Myles Turner turning in a solid performance of 13 points and 6 rebounds on 3-of-5 from the field and 6-of-7 from the line. Turnovers were a huge factor - 22 for the Pacers and just 11 for the Thunder. 

Siakam led the Pacers with 28 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals, and 2 blocks on 9-of-15 from the field, 3-of-6 from downtown, and 7-of-8 from the line. Aaron Nesmith scored 14 points with 6 rebounds on 4-of-5 from downtown, with none of his five makes from the field bigger than a follow-up slam on Holmgren that will serve as a great wall decoration one day. Obi Toppin scored 12 points on 5-of-11 off the bench. 

Heading back to Indianapolis for Thursday’s Game 6, the Pacers need something, anything, from Haliburton. The star was MIA on a day where his team needed him most - Gilgeous-Alexander and Williams flourishing while Siakam put up his best effort but Haliburton was failing. 

Game 6 goes Thursday night at 8:30 p.m. at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.