SGA, Jalen Williams Help Thunder Hold Off Pacers in Game 5 as NBA Fans Eye OKC Title

It was a full-on Jalen Williams takeover in Game 5 of the NBA Finals, as he poured in a playoff career-high 40 points in what amounted to the greatest game of his career so far.

Williams and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the way as the Oklahoma City Thunder took down the Indiana Pacers 120–109 to win Game 5 decisively.

The Thunder are now -1800 favorites to win the series and will enter Game 6 as five-point favorites, according to FanDuel.

With the win and a 3–2 series lead, fans flooded social media to praise OKC's dynamic duo.

Gilgeous-Alexander wrapped up the night with 31 points and 10 assists while shooting 9-of-21 from the field in the win. Williams' playoff career-high came on 56 percent shooting from the field, and he added six rebounds, four assists and one steal to his final line. Chet Holmgren chipped in with nine points and 11 rebounds.

For Indiana, Pascal Siakam led the scoring efforts with 28 points on 9-of-15 shooting. T.J. McConnell added 18 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the field. Tyrese Haliburton, battling through a right calf injury, was held to four points.

The Thunder fed off the energy of the home crowd early, with Isaiah Hartenstein opening the scoring with a dunk. Gilgeous-Alexander's sharp crossover and finish at the rim helped extend the lead to five, prompting an early timeout from the Pacers. 

Cason Wallace capped off the quarter with a three-pointer that led to a Holmgren rejection on the other end, giving the Thunder a 10-point advantage heading into the second.

Williams put on a show in the second quarter, stringing together back-to-back highlight buckets to notch 11 early points, while Holmgren anchored the defense with three blocks in the first half.

At the break, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 13 points on 50 percent shooting, while Williams led all scorers with 16 on 6-of-12 from the floor. Wallace chipped in nine points off the bench to round out a strong first half for the Thunder.

Indiana clawed its way back from a 59-45 halftime deficit, outscoring the Thunder 34-28 in the third quarter behind McConnell's 13 points on near-perfect shooting.

Williams stayed hot for the Thunder, pouring in 13 points in the third. His performance through three etched his name in the history books as he became just the fifth player in the last 40 seasons to score 25 or more points in three straight Finals games before turning 25.

A 10-point run by the Thunder in the fourth quarter began to slam the door on the Pacers' comeback hopes, especially as Williams took over.

The Thunder will look to close out the series against the Pacers on the road Thursday, with tip-off set for 8:30 p.m. ET.