1. A Surge That Never Became a Comeback
The script of Game 5 of the NBA Finals looped an old story: the Pacers, like a wind-up toy, crawled from a hopeless -16 to a nerve-tingling -2, posing as a team capable of flipping the game at any moment. This time, however, they lugged around a sack of turnovers and played virtually without Tyrese Haliburton, whose injured leg looked more like an anchor than a motor. And the moment they drew close, a hurricane named Jalen Williams swept in.
2. The Williams Explosion: The Moment That Changed Everything
With 8:30 left on the clock, Pascal Siakam buried a deep three to make it 93-95. It felt as though Indiana were about to embark on yet another historic overtaking run. Williams beat Benedict Mathurin but missed a lay-up, and the ball, like a marble of fate, was ready to roll to the visitors. Yet Isaiah Hartenstein snagged the orange sphere, Cason Wallace relayed it to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and two passes later it blossomed on the perimeter in front of a wide-open Williams. His pinpoint three drove a wedge into the Pacers’ rapidly meshing gears.
Afterward, a reporter reminded Williams that the lead had shrunk to just two. The forward merely shrugged: “Really? Didn’t notice.” In that moment it became clear that the question of whether J-Dub could be a reliable second option was closed—he found it too trivial even to recall how close the opponent had come to magic.
3. Leadership Sharpened in Shai’s Shadow
The 23-year-old Swiss-army forward spent the season soaking up Gilgeous-Alexander’s repertoire—half-step isolations, whipping Euro-steps, a razor-sharp pull-up. In the decisive quarter the Thunder kept running the same play: a high pick-and-roll between Shai and Jalen down the middle of the floor.
In barely two minutes the scoreboard flipped from 95-93 to 105-97—curtains. Andrew Nembhard, spooked by the strobe of attention, passed up an open three, ventured into the paint, tried to dish—and Shai read the pass, stole the ball, and finished a soft 2+1 at the other end.
Carlisle called timeout, but the cassette was already jammed. On the next trip Shai drew two defenders and kicked to Williams, who wrong-footed Nembhard and finished over Myles Turner. Another Pacers turnover followed, Alex Caruso dove for the ball, fed Williams, and the wing knocked down free throws as Oklahoma City entered the bonus and the visitors slipped into shock.
4. The Pacers’ Fragile Psyche
Before 18,000 spectators the visitors’ cardboard construct crumbled. Haliburton—usually the conductor—went 0-for-6 from the field, his four points coming only at the stripe. Mathurin still looked haunted by Game 4, while Siakam posted 28 points but surrendered six turnovers.
The toughest scene belonged to Nembhard: the passing-lane maestro of earlier rounds shrank into a hesitant rookie. Five of his feeds sailed into the advertising boards, and T. J. McConnell’s 18-point third-quarter spark plug somehow stayed on the bench, as though Carlisle feared he might break the furniture.
5. Wiping the Dust Off the Numbers: Records of the Night
- Williams’ 40 came on 14-for-25 shooting, 3-for-5 from deep, with a single turnover—good for 66.1 % true shooting.
- He became the fifth-youngest player ever to score 40+ in an NBA Finals game; only Westbrook, Barry, Jerry West, and Magic Johnson were younger.
- Gilgeous-Alexander recorded his 15th 30-point game of the 2025 playoffs, joining Michael Jordan (1992), Hakeem Olajuwon (1995), and Kobe Bryant (2009).
- Shai and J-Dub became the youngest duo of the 21st century with 30+ each in a Finals game—achieving what Durant and Westbrook could not in 2012.
6. Whistles and Emotions
The officiating crew came under crossfire early. Rick Carlisle drew a technical for protesting Pascal’s quick foul trouble, and Shai even coaxed a foul out of a jump-ball with McConnell. Yet the foul tally fell almost symmetrically, and when the Thunder’s two stars are in sync, searching the rulebook for salvation is a fool’s errand.
7. Coaching Poker and the Pacers’ Prolonged Pause
Carlisle admitted post-game that Haliburton is “on one leg,” but the guard insists on staying out there. The coach bet that the playmaker’s IQ would mask his limp; it did not.
Meanwhile Mark Daigneault, watching Lu Dort periodically left alone beyond the arc, refused to hurry. He let Indiana pick its poison—leave Dort free or collapse on Shai. The Cameroon-born stopper finished with just nine points, but his vacant corridors stretched the defense better than any clipboard pattern.
8. A Detail the Box Score Doesn’t Show
All fourth quarter Williams hunted the weak link—Nembhard. Time and again J-Dub called for a switch, got the Canadian in front, then either barreled into the lane for contact or rose for a crisp mid-ranger. It felt like a perpetual replay of the tutorial “How Shai Does It,” only Williams had the remote on repeat.
9. Match Point Heads to Indianapolis
The Pacers drop a series for the first time this postseason, and they do it at the worst moment—match point now travels to their home floor. Gainbridge Fieldhouse will rise hoping for one more miracle. The question is whether a hobbled Haliburton can ascend to his old height—and whether the defensive scaffold will collapse if the whistle tilts aggressive again.
10. Final Score and Box-Score Figures
Oklahoma City — Indiana 120 : 109
(32 : 22, 27 : 23, 28 : 34, 33 : 30)
17 June, 03:30, Paycom Center
Thunder
| Player | Pts | Reb. | Ast | %FG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| J. Williams | 40 | 6 | 4 | 56 % |
| Sh. Gilgeous-Alexander | 31 | 5 | 10 | 52 % |
| A. Wiggins | 14 | 4 | 1 | 6/8 |
| C. Wallace | 11 | — | 2 | 4/6 |
| L. Dort | 9 | 8 | 2 | 3/7 |
| C. Holmgren | 9 | 11 | 3 | 4/9 |
| I. Hartenstein | 4 | 8 | 2 | 2/3 |
| A. Caruso | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1/2 |
| K. Williams | 0 | 1 | — | 0/1 |
Pacers
| Player | Pts | Reb. | Ast | %FG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| P. Siakam | 28 | 5 | 3 | 11/24 |
| T. McConnell | 18 | 3 | 6 | 8/14 |
| O. Toppin | 12 | 4 | 1 | 5/7 |
| A. Nesmith | 14 | 4 | 2 | 5/9 |
| M. Turner | 13 | 7 | 2 | 5/11 |
| B. Mathurin | 7 | 8 | 1 | 3/8 |
| E. Nembhard | 7 | 2 | 4 | 3/10 |
| T. Haliburton | 4 | 7 | 6 | 0/6 |
| D. Bradley | 4 | 3 | — | 2/2 |
| T. Furphy | 2 | 1 | — | 1/3 |
| Sheppard, Bryant | 0 | — | — | 0/2 |
11. What’s Next?
Indiana returns home with the thought that no team has ever come back from 1-3 down while its primary playmaker is injured. Oklahoma City, meanwhile, sees the reflection of a dream the city has chased since 2012, when a young Durant-Westbrook duo fell to the Heat. Jalen Williams and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander are writing their own epilogue: more mature, more confident, and possibly championship bound.
The next game could be the final curtain—unless the Pacers dream up a new dose of sorcery. For now the story writes itself in ink that mixes Williams’ 40 points with Haliburton’s weary “I still can” whisper.
12. Spotlight Glares and the Weight of Expectation
For the Thunder the dream is now tangible: one win separates them from a title that seemed a couple of years away back in October. Yet the hardest step is always the last. The Pacers’ defense will surely be more aggressive, Carlisle will hunt ways to hide Nembhard, and Haliburton will get an adrenaline shot to rival lidocaine.
For now the basketball world lays out another stat card: 40 on the board for the second option, 31-10-4 for the first, and a team almost obscenely young that could wake up champions in two days.
