After the Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder squeaked previous the Denver Nuggets in seven video games to guide their spot within the Western Convention Finals, there have been nonetheless questions.
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Questions if this group had the expertise and composure to take the following step. Questions, particularly, as as to if Jalen Williams was the co-star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander wanted.
That’s not a query.
Williams nicely and actually got here into his personal on Tuesday, exploding for a postseason career-high 40 factors to encourage the Thunder to a hard-fought 120-109 win over the Indiana Pacers.
Laborious-fought as a result of the Pacers, as they at all times do, refused to go away regardless of a tricky evening for celebrity guard Tyrese Haliburton, who battled via harm and didn’t make a single area aim for first time in his postseason profession.
Former Golden State common supervisor Bob Myers later stated there was “no manner” Haliburton was wholesome, including that the Pacers guard seemed “hesitant” all recreation.
Even Australian rookie Johnny Furphy, who was introduced in for the ultimate two minutes of the sport, scored his first NBA Finals area aim as he completed via contact for an and-1.
As a substitute, it was T.J. McConnell who was as soon as once more the unlikely hero as he scored 13 factors within the third quarter alone.
Surprisingly, McConnell was not injected again into contest till the three:23 mark, when Oklahoma Metropolis led 118-104 and the sport was nearly over however Pacers coach Rick Carlisle later defined that the backup guard was “very drained”, therefore why he took him out.
McConnell (18 factors) was the spark Indiana wanted off the bench together with Obi Toppin, whereas Pascal Siakam had a monster recreation on each ends with 28 factors, three steals and two blocks.
Nevertheless, turnovers (six) have been a problem for Siakam and the Pacers as an entire (22).
Learn on for a full, quarter-by-quarter wrap of Sport 5!
FIRST QUARTER: Thunder 32 lead Pacers 22
It was a frantic begin, with a wild Chet Holmgren layup the spotlight of a high-scoring opening which noticed each groups commerce buckets earlier than turnovers began to show into a problem for Indiana.
An aggressive Siakam turned the ball over twice inside the primary 5 minutes and on each events it led to straightforward dunks on the opposite finish for Williams.
In the meantime, Isaiah Hartenstein – again within the beginning line-up for a second recreation in a row – made his presence felt early together with his playmaking as he discovered Williams for a slicing layup.
That was one in every of three early assists for the Thunder huge man, whereas he then set a display screen to open up a transparent driving lane for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to blow up to the rim and put Oklahoma Metropolis forward 17-12.
At that time there wasn’t a lot between the 2 groups, however the careless turnovers from the Pacers have been gifting the Thunder straightforward buckets and that was one thing Indiana couldn’t afford to do on the street towards an Oklahoma Metropolis staff that thrives in transition.
That was evident when Gilgeous-Alexander went coast-to-coast for the end after Andrew Nembhard missed a driving layup, though replays later confirmed the Pacers guard clearly fouled.
A visibly annoyed Carlisle was then assessed a technical foul as he argued the decision, having to be held again at one level, however after a stable begin it seemed like the sport was vulnerable to shortly getting away from Indiana as one other turnover led to an Alex Caruso layup on the opposite finish.
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Hartenstein, in the meantime, continued to be one in every of Oklahoma Metropolis’s most beneficial gamers to open the sport as he hustled for an offensive rebound that led to Cason Wallace’s first 3-pointer of the Finals.
One other late Wallace 3-pointer pushed Oklahoma Metropolis’s first quarter lead out to 32-22, with the Thunder outscoring the Pacers 16-8 within the paint and 7-1 in factors off turnovers.
SECOND QUARTER: Thunder 59 lead Pacers 45
As was the case in Sport 4, Daigneault despatched Gilgeous-Alexander to the bench halfway via the primary quarter and had Williams citing the ball in an try and maintain the MVP recent down the stretch.
Siakam, regardless of his three turnovers, was preserving the Indiana offence going with six factors as Haliburton went scoreless within the first quarter, making an attempt simply two area targets and each of them have been 3-pointers.
Solely making issues worse, Haliburton was later noticed with a wrap on his proper leg and ESPN’s Shams Charania reported it was proper calf tightness for the two-time All-Star, though he returned to the court docket shortly after within the second quarter.
With Haliburton hobbled and struggling to say himself, the Pacers wanted some juice off the bench and located it within the type of much-needed exercise on the boards.
Tony Bradley crashed the glass to create a second search for an Aaron Neismith triple whereas Mathurin, Obi Toppin and McConnell have been additionally engaged on the boards.
One other Neismith three, this one off a Toppin offensive rebound, trimmed Oklahoma Metropolis’s result in 40-32 however one other Pacers turnover and 4 fast factors from Williams noticed the Pacers name a fast timeout.
However even out of the timeout, the Pacers didn’t appear to have any solutions for Oklahoma Metropolis’s defence and a hampered Haliburton was struggling to get into any form of rhythm because the Thunder continually switched onto him and gave the Indiana guard all types of various seems.
Haliburton remained scoreless on the half for the primary time in his postseason with profession because the Pacers trailed 59-45 and actually it felt prefer it may have been even worse, particularly with Wallace and Aaron Wiggins having shock scorching capturing nights (three 3-pointers every).
As for Indiana, Nembhard picked up a number of the slack for Haliburton and was doing nicely to place strain on the rim together with doing his traditional job of pressuring Gilgeous-Alexander on the opposite finish.
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THIRD QUARTER: Thunder 87 lead Pacers 79
Each groups traded 3-pointers early within the third, with Lu Dort miraculously banking one which by no means seemed like dropping in till it someway did.
The Pacers wanted loads to go their manner within the second half to have any likelihood of stealing Sport 5, and so pictures like that have been intestine punches.
Williams, in the meantime, was having his greatest recreation of the sequence and actually embracing his amplified position because the primarily ballhandler, driving at Nesmith for the and-1 to place OKC up 66-53.
However in a promising signal for the Pacers, Haliburton later introduced up his first factors of the sport as he attacked the paint and drew a foul from Holmgren earlier than making each of his free throw makes an attempt.
Haliburton then hustled to maintain the ball in play after he had a layup try blocked by Caruso, resulting in a Toppin triple that additional reduce Oklahoma Metropolis’s result in 71-62.
The Pacers have been actually having to work tougher for his or her factors, and within the third quarter they have been doing simply that, typically out-hustling the Thunder for 50-50 balls.
However whilst they began to chip away on the OKC lead, it was shortly pushed again out on the opposite finish as Williams continued to seek out driving lanes to the rim.
Simply because the Thunder seemed on the verge of placing the Pacers away, McConnell scored six fast factors whereas Oklahoma Metropolis missed three-straight open seems from deep.
At that time, Indiana solely trailed 75-68. Time and time once more because the Thunder seemed to be regaining momentum, McConnell stole it again as he completed the third quarter alone with 13 factors.
Williams, nevertheless, was the standout in Sport 5 and made a tricky floater to shut the quarter because the Thunder led 87-79 regardless of being outscored 20-0 in bench factors within the interval.
FOURTH QUARTER: Thunder 120 defeat Pacers 109
McConnell shortly picked up the place he left off within the fourth quarter as he drove to the rim and drew a number of defenders earlier than kicking it out to Siakam for the wide-open 3-pointer.
Immediately, Oklahoma Metropolis’s lead was reduce to 87-82 however a simple layup for Gilgeous-Alexander and Wiggins triple prompted Rick Carlisle to name a fast timeout, trying to cease the Thunder from happening an prolonged run.
It labored because the Pacers, led by big performs on each ends from Siakam, at one level made it a three-possession recreation.
However then, in line with the seesawing nature of the sport all evening, simply as Indiana was on the verge of tying it up Williams made a tricky 3-pointer after which a Nembhard turnover on the next possession led to a Cason Wallace dunk on the opposite finish.
That pushed Oklahoma Metropolis’s lead again out to 100-93 with eight minutes left and later a 7-0 run, largely impressed by some extra ridiculous shot-making from Williams, made it a 13-point recreation and it was a wrap from there.
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