Oklahoma City Thunder look to clinch NBA championship in Game 6 against the Pacers
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Title: Jalen Williams' rise is pushing the Oklahoma City Thunder towards an NBA title
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If you weren't already a believer, then you better believe in him now.
Ever since an impressive rookie campaign in 2022-23 earned Jalen Williams a distant second place in the Rookie of the Year voting to Orlando Magic star Paolo Banchero, the OKC Thunder forward has enjoyed a meteoric rise in the NBA.
Williams took significant leaps in skill and production in years two and three, ending this regular season averaging 21.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.6 steals per game.
It is becoming exceedingly rare in the NBA for a player to look as well-rounded as Williams does in only his third season in the league.
Still only 24, Williams is already a menace on both sides of the ball; he can score at all three levels with a variety of shots and has shown improved playmaking chops, while his well-documented lockdown defending earned him a place in the NBA All-Defense Second Team.
Williams had the best game of his fledgling career with a 40-point explosion in the Game 5 win over the Indiana Pacers, announcing to the world his status as one of the game's most exciting players.
Currently the Robin to MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's Batman, Williams is already showing that he could take on that mantle somewhere in the not too distant future.
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Title: The Thunder's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is having a season for the ages
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In the 1999-00 season, Shaquille O'Neal put together one of the most dominant campaigns in NBA history. He won the scoring title, regular season MVP and Finals MVP — culminating in a Lakers championship, the first of three in a row that Los Angeles would go on to win.
Only three players have ever pulled off that trifecta: O'Neal, Michael Jordan (who did it four times) and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. It hasn't happened since.
Until, maybe, now.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is knocking on history's door, and he's doing it with the unshakable calm of a player who already belongs there.
At just 26, Gilgeous-Alexander has the Oklahoma City Thunder on the cusp of their first NBA title since the franchise relocated from Seattle.
Read more about SGA's incredible season here.
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Title: Indiana Pacers sweat over the injury status of star guard Tyrese Haliburton
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If the Indiana Pacers want to take these Finals to a Game 7, then it goes without saying they will need a fully healthy Tyrese Haliburton to have any chance of doing so.
Indiana's All-Star guard suffered a right calf strain in the first quarter of Monday's Game 5 against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Haliburton returned to the court after receiving treatment but was clearly hampered, failing to make a single field goal all game.
Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said on Wednesday that Haliburton 'participated in all of our walkthrough stuff,' but his exact status for the game wouldn't be known until later on Thursday.
'It's a walkthrough, so there was no real running or moving,' Carlisle added.
'It's a topic that people want to hear about and know about and there's going to be a lot of questions about it, but we will not really know for sure until late tomorrow afternoon or early evening.'
After Game 5, Haliburton said: 'If I can walk, then I want to play.'
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Title: How we got to the Thunder being on the edge of glory
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Here are the results of the earlier five games in the series:
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Title: How to watch tonight's Game 6 of the NBA Finals
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We could see a new NBA champion crowned tonight as the Oklahoma City Thunder go for their franchise's first title over the Indiana Pacers.
Here's how to watch the game as you follow along with CNN Sports' live coverage:
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