The Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder held Tyrese Haliburton with no subject objective and grabbed a 3-2 NBA Finals lead with a 120-109 win over the Indiana Pacers Monday night time in Oklahoma Metropolis.
Jalen Williams had a career-high playoff 40 factors whereas Haliburton tied his career-low with 4 factors. Because the Thunder sit one sport away from an NBA title, listed here are 5 takeaways from Sport 5.
1. Jalen Williams dominated on a weight loss plan of powerful pictures
Whereas the third-year guard Williams had a spectacular sport with 40 factors, you possibly can argue that the Pacers did not even defend him that badly. Williams has merely been spectacular on offense.
After scoring 26 factors in Sport 3 and 27 factors in Sport 4, Williams took it up one other degree in Sport 5. He shot 14-for-25 whereas attending to the road for 12 free throw makes an attempt, scoring on leaners, financial institution pictures and a trio of three-pointers with gamers flying at him.
It has been an unimaginable development for Williams in his three NBA seasons. He was at all times a robust defender, however he is constructed himself right into a improbable second possibility subsequent to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander — or a primary possibility if his staff wants it. His coach from Santa Clara, Herb Sendek, revealed after the sport that Williams by no means scored 20 factors in his first two seasons of faculty ball, and had a lone 30-point sport within the subsequent one.
Now he is placing up 40 in a Finals sport.
2. The Thunder protection smothered the Pacers in crunch time
The Indiana Pacers reduce a giant Thunder result in two factors when Pascal Siakam drilled a three-pointer to make it 95-93. Oklahoma Metropolis seemingly determined that the easiest way to maintain the Pacers from making pictures was to take the ball away from them earlier than they might strive.
On the subsequent seven Pacers possessions, the Thunder stole the ball 5 occasions. Three of these steals went for straightforward twos, and the opposite two led to capturing fouls by the Pacers.
When the turnover carnage had settled, the Thunder had a 113-97 lead after an 18-4 run in 3:25 of sport motion. Cason Wallace and Alex Caruso every had 4 steals within the sport, two of seven Thunder gamers with a minimum of one takeaway.
It is exhausting to win any sport when your staff commits 22 turnovers, but it surely’s particularly unattainable to make a fourth-quarter comeback after giving up 4 steals in a row.
3. The Pacers level guards could not soar
There have been quite a lot of no-contact accidents within the NBA playoffs, however Haliburton’s mysterious calf harm in Sport 5 might need had the worst timing off all of them. He fell whereas driving early within the second quarter on a play the place no Thunder defender touched him.
It is the identical leg that Haliburton injured in Sport 2, which the staff referred to as an ankle harm on the time. Shams Charania reported that Monday’s harm was “proper calf tightness,” and Haliburton was sporting a warmth wrap on the leg on the bench. However he appeared to have problem leaping off his proper leg, taking solely six pictures and lacking all of them.
The Pacers did get a giant effort out of backup T.J. McConnell. He scored or assisted on 18 of Indiana’s 34 third-quarter factors, and was Indiana’s main scorer by means of three quarters with 18 factors.
The one factor he could not do Monday night time was soar. After forcing a tie-up late within the third quarter, McConnell was whistled for a free ball foul when he hit Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on the arm on the next soar ball. ESPN’s Reggie Miller disputed that McConnell fouled him, explaining that the 33-year-old “simply could not soar that top.”
4. Chet Holmgren snuffed out quite a lot of Pacers’ probabilities
Within the first half, Chet Holmgren might not have been hitting his pictures, however he was doing every part else. He completed the primary 24 minutes with seven factors, three blocks and a steal, grabbing 4 of his 5 rebounds on the offensive finish.
In a pivotal second-quarter sequence, Holmgren blocked Pascal Siakam’s layup try, grabbed the rebound, drove the size of the court docket and scored — after rebounding his personal miss. Then he pressured two misses on the hoop on the opposite finish, serving to get the OKC result in 18 factors.
He completed with 9 factors and 11 rebounds, together with three blocks, however his +12 plus/minus score was a greater signal of the large influence the 23-year-old middle had on Monday’s sport.
5. The Thunder missed an opportunity to knock out the Pacers early
Within the first quarter, every part went the Thunder’s means. They shot 4-for-6 from three-point vary after solely making three in all of Sport 4. The Pacers dedicated seven turnovers, together with a play the place Obi Toppin demonstrated he did not know the over-and-back rule. Seven completely different OKC gamers scored, it blocked two pictures and Indiana HC Rick Carlisle obtained referred to as for a technical foul.
OKC did take a lead, getting its lead as much as 35-22 early within the second quarter and as much as 18 factors with 2:29 to go. Nevertheless it nonetheless went into the locker room up simply 14 factors regardless of capturing 8-for-17 from distance and holding Haliburton scoreless, due to lacking 18 pictures within the paint. That permit the Pacers make a sport of it within the ultimate quarter.
The Thunder managed to carry off the Pacers with powerful protection and transition buckets within the fourth quarter. However towards a staff that is made a behavior of double-digit, last-minute comebacks within the playoffs, the Thunder might relaxation loads simpler if they might actually land the knockout blow early.
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