The Oklahoma City Thunder moved within one win of their first NBA championship in 46 years on Monday night, beating the Indiana Pacers 120–109 in Game 5 of the NBA finals to take a 3-2 series lead.
Jalen Williams scored a career playoff-high 40 points and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 31 points and 10 assists as the Thunder’s top two scorers carried the team to the brink of the franchise’s first title since 1979. Oklahoma City pulled away in the fourth quarter after Indiana had cut an 18-point deficit to just two.
Pascal Siakam led the Pacers with 28 points. TJ McConnell added 18 off the bench, including 13 during a third-quarter run that helped Indiana close the gap despite limited production from Tyrese Haliburton, who was slowed by a leg injury.
Schedule
Best-of-seven-games series. All times US eastern time (EDT).
Thu 5 Jun Game 1: Pacers 111, Thunder 110
Sun 8 Jun Game 2: Thunder 123, Pacers 107
Wed 11 Jun Game 3: Pacers 116, Thunder 107
Fri 13 Jun Game 4: Thunder 111, Pacers 104
Mon 16 Jun Game 5: Thunder 120, Pacers 109
Thu 19 Jun Game 6: Thunder at Pacers, 8.30pm
Sun 22 Jun Game 7: Pacers at Thunder, 8pm*
*-if necessary
How to watch
In the US, all games will air on ABC. Streaming options include ABC.com or the ABC app (with a participating TV provider login), as well as Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV, fuboTV, DIRECTV STREAM, and Sling TV (via ESPN3 for ABC games). NBA League Pass offers replays, but live finals games are subject to blackout restrictions in the US.
In the UK, the games will be available on TNT Sports and Discovery+. As for streaming, NBA League Pass will provide live and on-demand access to all Finals games without blackout restrictions.
In Australia, the games will broadcast live on ESPN Australia. Kayo Sports and Foxtel Now will stream the games live, while NBA League Pass will offer live and on-demand access without blackout restrictions.
A pair of Siakam free throws made it 93–89 early in the fourth quarter and a three-pointer moments later trimmed Oklahoma City’s lead to 95–93. But the Thunder roared back with an 11–2 run and never allowed the Pacers to get closer.
Game 6 is Thursday night in Indianapolis. Oklahoma City are 7–3 on the road this postseason. Indiana are 9–1 at home.
Teams that win Game 5 of a finals tied 2–2 have gone on to win the series 74% of the time. A Thunder win in Game 6 would clinch the franchise’s first title since the team was known as the Seattle Supersonics.
This is a developing story. More to follow.
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