CNN
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In a pivotal Game 5, the Oklahoma City Thunder were able to fend off a late-game comeback attempt from the Indiana Pacers to take a 3-2 lead in the series and move to within a game of the NBA championship after a 120-109 win Monday night.
History will tell you that when the NBA Finals are knotted at 2-2, the winner of Game 5 goes on to win the series nearly 75% of the time – a fact that was surely on the minds of both teams and definitely wasn’t lost on the fans in attendance in Oklahoma City. And with the Pacers’ star player hindered by an injury early, the home crowd could sense the chance to pounce on a championship chance.
Paycom Center was rocking during the player introductions and the raucous frenzy continued after tip-off as the Thunder got off to a hot start from the outset.
A barrage of 3-pointers keyed OKC’s attack, with the Thunder knocking down four of six attempts from long range in the opening quarter – one more 3-pointer than they had in all of Game 4. The Thunder’s sizzling shooting lifted the Western Conference champions to a 10-point lead at the end of the first quarter at 32-22.
The Pacers’ early woes were compounded when guard Tyrese Haliburton went down awkwardly while driving the ball to the rim in the first quarter and appeared to come up favoring his right calf.
Haliburton was briefly taken to the locker room and emerged with his lower leg wrapped. Although he would return to the court, Indiana’s postseason hero struggled to find any offensive rhythm in the first half, failing to score a single point before halftime for the first time in his playoff career.
The Thunder continued to pad their advantage in the second quarter with major contributions from the team’s stars as well as some of its reserves.
Jalen Williams led the Thunder with 16 points at halftime, while Shai-Gilgeous Alexander added 13 first-half points. Coming off the bench, Aaron Wiggins and Cason Wallace each scored 9 points on a trio of 3-pointers in the first half, lifting the Thunder to a 59-45 lead at the intermission.
But as they’ve done all postseason long, the Pacers showed the persistence that has carried them to the NBA Finals as they began cutting into a sizeable second half deficit.
In a game where Haliburton mustered only four points, the Pacers’ third quarter run was sparked by an unlikely source – reserve guard TJ McConnell. The nine-year veteran scored 13 points in the final five minutes of the quarter as Indiana trimmed the Thunder’s lead down to 8 points at 87-79.
With Haliburton a non-factor, Eastern Conference Finals MVP Pascal Siakam put the Pacers on his back as Indiana continued its quest for another epic playoff comeback. Siakam had a team-high 28 points and his 3-pointer with 8:30 left in the fourth quarter brought the Pacers to within two points of Oklahoma City at 95-93.
But that was as close as the Pacers would get.
The Thunder defense found another gear and showed the swarming intensity that has been a hallmark of the NBA’s top defense throughout the season. Meanwhile, OKC’s offense found a much-needed burst of energy to run its lead back to double digits.
For all the much-deserved praise directed at league MVP Gilgeous-Alexander throughout the Thunder’s playoff run, Game 5 belonged to his teammate Williams. Every time the team needed a big basket, the ball went to Williams, who led all scorers with a game-high 40 points.
“My teammates instill a lot of confidence in me and go out and be me,” Williams told broadcaster ABC after the game. “(Head coach) Mark (Daigneault) has done a good job telling me just be myself. I don’t got to be anything more, and that’s giving me a lot of confidence.”
The series will now shift back to Indiana for Game 6, where the Pacers will need a win on their home court to force a winner-takes-all Game 7 back in Oklahoma City.
If the Pacers are to have a realistic hope of extending their season, they will need a greater contribution from Haliburton, who has been the centerpiece of so many of Indiana’s improbable wins during these playoffs.
Despite shaking off his apparent calf injury and playing 34 minutes Monday night, Haliburton did not convert a single field goal in the game, scoring all four of his points from the free throw line.
Haliburton and the Pacers will have less than 48 hours to shake off the sting of their Game 5 loss before Thursday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.