No Pacers comeback this time, Thunder take 3-2 Finals lead with Game 5 win on night Haliburton hobbled

OKLAHOMA CITY — For three and a half quarters, Game 5 had some Game 1 vibes. Oklahoma City was the better, more aggressive team; their defense was smothering, and they rediscovered their 3-point shot. Still, the Thunder could not pull away, and while the lead reached 18 at one point in the second quarter, the Pacers just kept hanging around within striking distance.

Then, behind an epic T.J. McConnell 13-point quarter, the Pacers cut the lead to two in the third and waves of concern washed over the Paycom Center. Thunder fans had seen this movie before and did not enjoy the ending.

Two things kept this from being Game 1.

First, Tyrese Haliburton tweaked his calf in the first half and was not the player who could cap off a comeback. Haliburton slipped on a second-quarter drive and appeared to aggravate his left calf, the same one that had him limping slightly after Game 2. He left the game, went back to the locker room, came out about five minutes later and eventually returned to the court, playing 34 minutes on the night. Still, after he came back, it looked like he had trouble pushing off with his right leg.

“He’s not 100%, it’s pretty clear,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said postgame. “But I don’t think he’s going to miss the next game. We were concerned at halftime, and he insisted on playing. I thought he made a lot of really good things happen in the second half. But he’s not 100%.”

Haliburton was not limping after the game, walking into his press conference.

“It’s the Finals, man. I’ve worked my whole life to be here and I want to be out there to compete,” Haliburton said. “Help my teammates any way I can. I was not great tonight by any means, but it’s not really a thought of mine to not play here. If I can walk, then I want to play.”

Haliburton said this injury, whatever the medical definition, was in the same spot as the injury he suffered in Game 2, but he didn’t know if they were related. They likely are. Indiana will need more out of him come Game 6 on Thursday. Haliburton finished the night with four points on 0-of-6 shooting, all his points came from the free throw line.

The second reason Game 5 was not a redo of Game 1: This was Jalen Williams’ best game of the playoffs. The Thunder’s No. 2 option was their best player Monday night, scoring 40 points.

The result was a 120-109 Oklahoma City win that has the Thunder one win away from their first championship (we’re not counting the Seattle one in these parts). Indiana heads home for a must-win Game 6 on Thursday back in Indianapolis.

Indiana may need more Haliburton in that game, but it also needs to take better care of the ball — Indiana had 23 turnovers that led to 32 Oklahoma City points.

“That’s the game. We’ve got to do a heck of a lot better there,” Carlisle said.

The Pacers did get a lift from Pascal Siakam, who scored 28 and took over Indy’s scoring in the fourth quarter, scoring nine of their first 12.

“I think we didn’t make the necessary plays at the right time,” Siakam said of the Pacers’ offense in the clutch. “Some rebounding or turnovers there that they converted into buckets. They made some tough shots. Tough shots after tough shots in those moments. We weren’t able to get anything really going offensively at that point.”

Oklahoma City got another big night from their MVP, who scored 31 points with 10 assists, and he got to the line 14 times.

This felt like the Thunder’s night from the start. OKC came out and forced four quick turnovers that became six points, and they started out shooting 8-of-8 at the rim, plus on top of all that their defensive rotations are sharp. All of that pushed the Thunder out to a 10-point lead midway through the first. Those trends continued for much of the first, but that Game 1 vibe was alive early as the Thunder could not pull away. The Pacers made some plays, the Thunder missed some shots, and it was a 10-point OKC lead, 32-22, after one quarter.

The second quarter continued the trend of the Thunder looking like the better team, largely due to their ability to drive to the rim — scoring 22 first-half points in the paint — which led to kick-out open 3s. The Thunder shot 8-of-17 from 3 in the first half of Game 5, one game after going 3-of-16 in all of Game 4.

Then there was the OKC defense. The best sign of how well the Thunder were locking up the Pacers was not the turnovers: The average Pacers possession took 15.7 seconds in the first half, much longer than they want (usually around 12.5 seconds).

Even with Haliburton not himself, the Pacers were still the Pacers and cut the Thunder lead to seven behind a monster third quarter from T.J. McConnell, who scored 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting in the frame.

In the fourth, the Pacers got the lead down to two, but without Haliburton not himself, Indiana couldn’t close the deal. The Thunder went on a 21-8 run, and that was the ballgame.

Oklahoma City has a chance to celebrate an NBA championship on their opponent’s floor, but if we know one thing, it’s that the Pacers will not go away.