Player grades: Jalen Williams, SGA lead Thunder to 120-109 Game 5 win over Pacers

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Player grades: Jalen Williams, SGA lead Thunder to 120-109 Game 5 win over Pacers
OKLAHOMA CITY — Taking in the final seconds, the OKC crowd entered Paycom Center a bundle of nerves and left it riding an all-time high to the streets. As the buzzer sounded, the title favorite officially took one step closer to accomplishing its ultimate goal.
The Oklahoma City Thunder crossed the finish line to a 120-109 Game 5 win over the Indiana Pacers. They're now up for the first time in the 2025 NBA Finals with a 3-2 series lead and only need one more victory to capture a championship.
Backed by a home crowd that understood what was at stake, the Thunder started quickly. It didn't take long for them to rack up points. The only problem was that the Pacers did too. After the first quarter, the Thunder held a 32-22 lead.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams showed early signs of their eventual headline performance. The double-digit lead was not bad, but could've been more. OKC's All-Star duo ensured that as Williams steamrolled his way to the basket. Sprinkle in some good outside shooting variance by role players, and the Thunder had a 59-45 halftime lead.
Very similar feelings to Game 1 among Thunder fans. Sure, it was a decent cushion. But the Pacers have shown all playoffs that these types of deficits are nothing to them. That showed up in the second half. Pascal Siakam scored on a transition layup to make it a 67-55 contest less than four minutes into the third quarter.
Uh oh. It was happening again. The Thunder couldn't take care of the ball. And when it did, too many misses around the rim hurt them. TJ McConnell took over late in the third quarter to make it a single-digit deficit. He sliced through OKC's defense. Indiana scored 34 points in the third frame. The Thunder only had an 87-79 lead with a quarter left.
It didn't take long for the Pacers to make things super interesting for the average NBA fan and super stressful for the average OKC viewer. Siakam's second-chance 3-pointer cut the Thunder's lead to 95-93 with over eight minutes left in the game.
Surely that meant another tight finish. It was the Pacers' turn to return the favor. The Thunder hung around in Game 4 before they stole a road win with a superhero fourth quarter by Gilgeous-Alexander. Except Indiana quickly realized it didn't have that guy. Tyrese Haliburton was a no-show.
Only up by two points, the Thunder immediately responded with a 17-4 run. Gilgeous-Alexander and Williams took over in that stretch. Gilgeous-Alexander finally snapped out of it and hit on difficult jumpers. Meanwhile, Williams turned in one of the best stretches of his career by dominating the Pacers.
That run suddenly put the Thunder up 112-97. Before you could even realize what happened, the Thunder blitzed the Pacers on the scoreboard to go back up by a comfortable double-digit margin. Indiana had no idea what just happened as it looked lost in the final moments.
The Thunder shot 43% from the field and went 14-of-32 (43.8%) from 3. They shot 26-of-32 on free throws. They had 24 assists on 40 baskets. Four Thunder players scored double-digit points.
Williams led the way with an efficient 40 points. Gilgeous-Alexander had 31 points and 10 assists that went under the radar because of his fellow All-NBA teammate. Aaron Wiggins had 14 points and Cason Wallace had 11 points off the bench.
Meanwhile, the Pacers shot 45% from the field and went 11-of-30 (36.7%) from 3. They shot 24-of-30 on free throws. They had 23 assists on 37 baskets. Five Pacers players scored double-digit points.
Siakam finished with 28 points, six rebounds and five assists. Haliburton was quiet with four points, seven rebounds and six assists. McConnell surprised with 18 points off the bench. Aaron Nesmith had 14 points. Myles Turner had 13 points and six rebounds. Obi Toppin tallied 12 points.
Another legacy performance by Gilgeous-Alexander and Williams. The Thunder's best two players stepped up while the Pacers' best player faded into the background. They teased another comeback, but constantly chipping away from double-digit deficits isn't the best long-term formula for wins.
The Thunder are on the cusp of their first NBA championship. They're a win away and have taken full control of this NBA Finals series.
Let's look at Thunder player grades:
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: A-plus
Reading Andrew Nembhard's next move, Gilgeous-Alexander easily read his pass for an interception. Drawing contact from Haliburton in transition, the MVP winner completed the steal-and-score sequence to put OKC back up by double-digit points for the rest of the way.
Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 31 points on 9-of-21 shooting, 10 assists and two rebounds. He shot 0-of-3 from 3 and went 13-of-14 on free throws. He also had four blocks and two steals.
While the Pacers did a better job at limiting Gilgeous-Alexander's looks, the MVP winner always finds a way. This time, he drew contact on his drives to the basket. The free-throw line was his friend as it helped him rack up another 30-point performance.
Gilgeous-Alexander also leveraged the defensive attention he received. When he has the ball, 10 sets of eyes from Indiana are on him. That helped him take advantage of his gravity and dish out assists. The 10 assists matched the same amount the Thunder had as a whole in Game 4.
With things looking dire, Gilgeous-Alexander went back to being a no-nonsense scorer. He scored nine points in the final frame to put the Pacers away. Each time he went to the free-throw line, he was met with the loudest MVP chants he's probably heard in his entire career.
Just like that, Gilgeous-Alexander is a win away from one of the greatest individual seasons ever. His regular-season scoring dominance has translated to the NBA's biggest stage. If the Thunder can get one more win, he'll cap off one of the greatest NBA Finals debuts ever.
Jalen Williams: A-plus
Dancing with Nesmith, Williams went to his bag for his final bucket. A little bump and turnaround fadeaway looked as easy as riding a bike. He swished in the mid-range jumper. On the biggest stage of his basketball life, the 24-year-old delivered a performance that'll forever be remembered.
Williams finished with 40 points on 14-of-25 shooting, six rebounds and four assists. He shot 3-of-5 from 3 and went 9-of-12 on free throws. He also had a steal.
Holy crap. Talk about having a game that could change your career trajectory. Usually viewed as Robin, Williams stepped up as Batman with everything on the line. He made any pre-playoff concerns about him being a viable enough second option look silly.
Williams was unstoppable from the start. He destroyed Indiana's interior defense. The mid-range jumper found a groove. The footwork was impeccable. He bumped multiple defenders off him to create space. On top of all that, he got to the free-throw line at will. That was always the 24-year-old's biggest gripe all year. To get over that hump at the freaking NBA Finals is surreal to see.
As the Pacers cut it to as little as two points, Williams dragged the Thunder to a win. He scored 24 points in the second half alone. Each time Indiana looked on the verge of retaking the lead, he knocked down a big-time bucket to soothe any worries.
If the Thunder win the championship, "Game 5 Williams" will be talked about the same way as some of the all-time great NBA Finals performances. Perhaps those NBA folks who told Brian Windhorst he has some Scottie Pippen in him weren't that far off.
Chet Holmgren: B
This will come off as a backhanded compliment, but for as bad as Holmgren was on the offensive end, he was equally as good on the defensive end. One of the most polarizing NBA players left his mark on one of the most important Thunder wins.
Holmgren finished with nine points on 4-of-15 shooting, 11 rebounds and three blocks. He shot 1-of-3 from 3. He also had a steal.
The box score stats aren't pretty. Holmgren is still pretty far away from being a dependable scorer. This game showed that. Rushed drives to the basket, which resulted in nasty misses. Clumsy turnovers that were created by a loose handle.
But man, the defense is one-of-a-kind. The Pacers failed to create rim pressure. Holmgren can be thanked for that. The seven-footer forced Indiana to second-guess itself on drives to the basket. A red-hot McConnell tried to score deep in the paint against him and failed to do so.
To evaluate Holmgren requires nuance. The scoring numbers might dampen the public's opinion, but there's a reason why the Thunder dominated in his minutes and played him down the stretch. What he brings as a rim protector justifies the ugly offensive possessions.
Cason Wallace: B-plus
Backpedaling to the right corner, Wallace finally had a heavy toll lifted off his shoulders. He swished in his first outside bucket of the NBA Finals. He previously missed his first eight attempts. And once you see one go in, more soon follow.
Wallace finished with 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting and two rebounds. He shot 3-of-4 from 3. He also had four steals and one block. This was easily his best NBA Finals performance after his playing time dwindled.
The Thunder needed this type of production from Wallace. The 21-year-old struggled with confidence problems early on. He finally snapped out of it in Game 5. Perfect timing, too, as the Thunder's depth outplayed the Pacers'.
And then there's the steals. Wallace was a defensive monster. Usually reliable on that end, the Pacers put him through the blender at the start of the NBA Finals with constant switches. That didn't work out this time. He was a step ahead of their passes and racked up plenty of steals.
Since Game 1, the Thunder and Pacers were about even the next three games in the turnover department. That was great news for Indiana. It's superb ball security took away OKC's defensive superpower. Until Game 5. Things went back the Thunder's way.
Aaron Wiggins: A
Left open because of Gilgeous-Alexander's attention, Wiggins made the Pacers regret leaving him open from deep. The 26-year-old made more outside buckets by himself in Game 5 than the Thunder did as an entire team in Game 4. They enjoyed some positive regression.
Wiggins finished with 14 points on 4-of-10 shooting and five rebounds. He shot 4-of-7 from 3 and went 2-of-2 on free throws. He also had a block.
Role players play better at home. Wiggins exemplified that principle. When he gets going, the Thunder are difficult to beat. He adds another shot-creator who could create a rhythm and dominate the bench lineups.
This was another all-around performance by the Thunder. Everybody played a role. Heading into Game 5, they were due for some steals and outside buckets. They received both from their starters and bench players.
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