Thunder's Jalen Williams, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander join LeBron James, Kyrie Irving in NBA Finals lore
The post Thunder's Jalen Williams, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander join LeBron James, Kyrie Irving in NBA Finals lore appeared first on ClutchPoints.
The Oklahoma City Thunder are a win away from having an NBA championship parade after they scored a pivotal 120-109 win over the Indiana Pacers on Monday night at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City.
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The Thunder's Game 5 victory probably would not have been possible without the incredible production of the duo of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams. The 2024-25 NBA Most Valuable Player dropped 31 points on a 9-for-21 shooting from the floor while Williams led all players in the contest with an NBA Playoff career-high of 40 points on the strength of a 14-for-25 shooting from the field.
With those performances, Williams and Gilgeous-Alexander became just the first pair of teammates in an NBA Finals game to pull off an astonishing scoring feat since LeBron James and Kyrie Irving did during their time with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
'Jalen Williams and SGA join LeBron and Kyrie as the only teammates since 1980 to finish a Finals game with 40+ points for one and 30+ points for the other,' posted Zach Kram of ESPN on the social media platform, Bluesky.
Williams and Gilgeous-Alexander took turns in pummeling Indiana, which didn't have its biggest star performing up to par. Tyrese Haliburton had a nightmarish night with his shot, as he missed all six of his attempts from the field while finishing with just four points, all from the foul line.
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The Pacers had a spirited run in the fourth quarter, where they reduced an 18-point deficit down to a four-point disadvantage, but unlike in the series opener, Oklahoma City extinguished Indiana's comeback attempt and made great plays on both ends of the floor to avoid a complete collapse and secure a win.
Game 5 was another reminder as well that the Thunder are more than just about Gilgeous-Alexander, with Williams doing most of the heavy lifting offensively. Meanwhile, Aaron Wiggins and Cason Wallace provided 25 points and seven 3-pointers together for the Thunder, who can close out the series and raise the Larry O'Brien Trophy as soon as Game 6 on Thursday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indiana.
Through five games in the 2025 NBA Finals, Gilgeous-Alexander is leading the Thunder with an average of 32.4 points on a 47.5 field goal percentage, while Williams is right behind him with 25.8 points per outing on a 44.7 success rate from the floor.
Related: Stephen A. Smith uses Michael Jordan-Scottie Pippen example to praise Thunder's Jalen Williams
Related: Thunder's Alex Caruso issues strong message after Game 5 victory
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