Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

Thunder vs. Pacers NBA Finals 2025 Game 5: Jalen Williams’ Career-Night Pushes Thunder One Victory Away From Championship

Game 6 now became the elimination matchup for the Pacers.

Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

Jalen Williams dropped a playoff career career-high 40 points to guide Oklahoma City Thunder a 120-109 victory against the Indiana Pacers in Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Monday night. The Thunder won their second straight game of the series and gained a commanding 3-2 lead in the series. OKC Thunder are one win away to clinch their first ever NBA championship after relocating from Seattle.

Jalen Williams got a valuable support form MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who stole the show with 31 points. Aaron Wiggins and Cason Wallace recorded in double figures. Williams was 14 of 24 from the field, and Gilgeous-Alexander added 10 assists. It was a ruthless show from the Thunder and they didn’t drop the lead throughout the game. Both teams will now move to Indianapolis for Game 6 and Thunder would look to wrap up the series on Thursday.

After their 18-point lead was cut to 2 early in the 4th quarter…

OKC RESPONDED.

Their definitive 21-8 run has them 1 win from the first title of the franchise's @okcthunder era 🚨 pic.twitter.com/oDqPyKkyVd
— NBA (@NBA) June 17, 2025

Also Read: Jalen Williams Net Worth – Exploring the Net Worth, Career Earnings, NBA Contract of the Thunder’s Second Scoring Option

Thunder Requires One Win away To Take Maiden NBA Championship after Relocating from Seattle

OKC Thunder made a solid start and outscored the Pacers 32-22 in the opening quarter. The Thunder stretched their lead to 14 points at halftime. In the first half, Haliburton went scoreless and left the game due to a calf injury which hurt the Pacers in the offense. He went to the locker room after logging just over 10 minutes of play in the opening quarter.

Tyrese Haliburton left the game with a shin/calf injury in the first quarter 😳

Hope it isn’t serious. pic.twitter.com/uKmwvy4uDD
— SM Highlights (@SMHighlights1) June 17, 2025

Pacers had a huge pressure to turn the table in the second half but they were without their best clutch player, Haliburton. Indiana went on a 15-6 run in the third to cut the deficit to five points. T. J. McConnell dropped 13 of his team-high 18 points in the period. However, the OKC scored final hoop before the quarter ended and led Pacers 87-79.

Pacers made it a 2-point game at the 8:30 mark of the 4th quarter, thanks to Pascal Siakam, who dropped a pair of free throws and a three-pointer to make it 95-93. The Thunder showed a championship-level performance in the final phase of the game and didn’t allow Pacers to repeat the heroics of Game 1. Oklahoma City went on a 21-8 closing run to seal the game.

Game 6 now became the elimination matchup for the Pacers. In the history of the NBA Finals, when a series is tied 2-2, the winner of Game 5 ultimately wins it all 74.2% of the time, as per Evan Sidery. Teams with 3-2 lead in the NBA Finals lost the championship only nine times out of 40. Pacers will get a tough task to complete in pursuit of a historic NBA championship.

Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

Indiana Pacers

NBA Finals

Oklahoma City Thunder

Gulshan Sharma

nba

soccer

wnba

A native of Jaipur, Rajasthan, journalist, and a complete soccer and basketball fan, he found the huge interest with basketball by watching videos of Allen Iverson and Tony Parker, but fell head over heels in love with the sport during the Warriors’ championship era (2015-2018). A sports game addict since his late PS1, he’s also passionate about the Eagles, Inter Miami and the Fever. He’s fortunate to have seen all his favorite teams win championships. He also has a special love for cricket and football (soccer), where he is a fan of Royal Challengers Bangalore and Barcelona.