Jalen Williams still ascending

New York Times

6 hours ago

Follow live reaction after Oklahoma City won 120-109 behind Williams and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (31 points) to move one win away from an NBA title Imagn Images
The Oklahoma City Thunder got 40 points from Jalen Williams and 31 points from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to survive another fourth-quarter Indiana Pacers comeback and take a 3-2 series lead with a 120-109 win in Game 5 of the 2025 NBA Finals.
The Thunder were up 14 points at halftime thanks to some stifling defense, forcing 10 Pacers turnovers and holding Indiana to 33 percent shooting. But the Pacers stormed back despite a quiet night from Tyrese Haliburton, who was dealing with right calf soreness, thanks to second-half performances from Pascal Siakam and unlikely hero T.J. McConnell, trailing by as little as two in the fourth quarter before the Thunder regained momentum.
Oklahoma City's defense forced 22 Indiana turnovers, Gilgeous-Alexander added four blocks, two steals and 10 assists to his scoring output, and the Thunder have their first lead of the series and are one win away from their first NBA title. Williams is the 14th player in NBA history with a Finals Game 5 performance of 40 or more points and the first since Devin Booker in 2021.
Game 6 is Thursday in Indianapolis.
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What turns Oklahoma City into an eventual dynasty has always been Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren reaching their eventual ceilings.
Chet's time will come, but this playoff run has firmly confirmed what J-Dub can be long-term,. That is SCARY for the rest of the NBA.
Special performance from one of the NBA's brightest young stars...
Here's what Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said postgame about Tyrese Haliburton who did not make a field goal while battling calf pain.
'He's not 100 percent, it's pretty clear, but I don't think he's gonna miss the next game. We were concerned at halftime and he insisted on playing. I thought he made a lot of good things happen in the second half.'
'We'll evaluate everything with Tyrese and see how he wakes up tomorrow."
The Pacers have just lost back-to-back games for the first time since March.
Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle says Tyrese Haliburton isn't 100 percent but he insisted on playing.
Carlisle doesn't think Haliburton will miss the next game.
Pacers coach Rick Carlisle highlighted the team's 23 turnovers in his postgame news conference.
"That's the game."
Simple as that.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams have both scored 30 or more points in the same game twice this regular season.
They have now done it twice in this postseason as well.
The Pacers have defied logic throughout this postseason run, but it's impossible to win an NBA Finals game when your best player doesn't hit a single shot. This is the epitome of the Thunder defense, one of the best in recent history at suffocating ballhandlers and commandeering passing lanes. The Pacers' supporting cast found life tonight, and the Thunder put that to bed as soon as crunch time began. Getty Images
The Pacers are going to need more from their stars in Game 6. Pascal Siakam ended the game with 28 points, six rebounds and five assists, but he committed a career playoff high six turnovers. Tyrese Haliburton didn't make a single field goal (0-for-6) and scored just four points. He also recorded three turnovers, while only dishing out six assists.
The Pacers just aren't going to win if that is all they can get out of their two best players.
The Pacers have to hope Tyrese Haliburton can get close to right before Thursday's Game 6. This series has been so compelling, and the Pacers have been such a fun story. You want to see them as healthy as possible as they try to force Game 7.
Jalen Williams admitted the Thunder had Game 1's collapse on their mind when the Pacers got close.
"We're getting opportunities to repeat and grow through our experience. That was honestly the same exact game as Game 1, to be totally honest," Williams told Lisa Salters. "Learning through these Finals, that's what makes a team good." Imagn Images
This is the first time Tyrese Haliburton failed to make a field goal in a playoff game in his career. It happened twice this regular season, both Pacers road losses.
Amusing moment as Lisa Salters informs Jalen Williams that the Pacers cut the Thunder's lead to two points at one point in the fourth quarter
"They did?" Williams responded.
"Yes they did," Salters said. "You didn't know that?"
"Uh uh."
Not sure what it reveals, if anything, but it was funny.
Jalen Williams' 35 minutes of playing time are the fewest in a 40-point game in NBA Finals history. The previous low was a two-way tie at 38 minutes between Giannis Antetokounmpo (2021) and Kobe Bryant (2009).
Final - Thunder 120, Pacers 109
Despite an abysmal game from Tyrese Haliburton, this was a two-point game with eight minutes to play. But the Thunder made all the winning plays down the stretch and the Pacers wilted.
Jalen Williams was sensational, scoring 40 points on 14-of-25 shooting and going 3-of-5 from deep. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who didn't record an assist in Game 4, scored 31 points to go with 10 assists. Aaron Wiggins and Cason Wallace combined for 25 points off the bench, making seven 3s.
I am slightly surprised Rick Carlisle is pulling out the white flag. It is objectively the correct thing to do, especially given Tyrese Haliburton's injury, but I'm still a bit shocked given that he coaches the 2024-25 Indiana Pacers.
Love the guy in the background after that Aaron Nesmith hammer yelling "Where did he come from?!"
Aaron Nesmith with one of the best put-back dunks you'll ever see. It'll be forgotten to time, but my goodness does that dude play incredibly hard.