The dynamic duo torn down the house.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander earned the NBA’s Most Valuable Player award this season primarily by being a dominant scorer.
In Game 5 of the NBA Finals at home, he put on display that he is elite as a more traditional point guard, as well. He had a double-double, with 31 points and 10 assists along with four blocks in a Robin role to Jalen Williams’ Batman, as the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Indiana Pacers by eleven, 120-109 on Monday night. The Thunder took a 3-2 lead in the series and now are a win away from their first NBA title.
Gilgeous-Alexander was the league’s scoring champion this season, at 32 points per game and he has led the team in scoring in all but four playoff games. Even when Williams was feeling it and having out of this world performances, they have largely been an afterthought to Gilgeous-Alexander’s insane numbers.
This time was a bit different. Williams scored a career playoff-high 40 points, so Gilgeous-Alexander did not need to force up bad shots against Indiana’s constant presser and double-teams.
Gilgeous-Alexander still put up impressive stats, going 9 for 21 from the field and making 13 of 14 free throws. But he was overjoyed that Williams was the leading man in this production.
“He can shoulder a load,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “I’ve said this before — he does so many things for us as a basketball team on both ends of the floor when he’s the best version of himself … he was great tonight. Makes a world of a difference when he’s that good, for sure.”
Embed from Getty ImagesIt makes perfect sense that the Pacers paid extra attention to Gilgeous-Alexander, who joined three legends of the game, Kobe Bryant, Hakeem Olajuwon and Michael Jordan on Monday as the only players with 15 or more games with at least 30 points in a postseason.
But Williams solved the puzzle of Indiana’s defense again in his third straight game with at least 26 points. And when the Pacers attempted to rally in the fourth quarter, getting within two, 95-93, Williams scored 11 points in the final period and Gilgeous-Alexander had nine points and four dimes.
“Thought those guys played really well in the two-man game,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “Controlled the clock, controlled the game down the stretch, paced us ahead of them.”
It is all part of Gilgeous-Alexander’s master plan. After last season’s loss to Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference semifinals, Gilgeous-Alexander talked about taking a lesser role at times to help his teammates develop so they could be ready to help him at critical junctures.
It all clicked in Williams’ mind at just the right time. He made 14 of 25 field goals and 9 of 12 free throws on Monday night. He said he is thankful to be in a position where his teammates want him to succeed.
“I’m just in a really, really good situation that’s allowed me to grow as a player at a more rapid rate because I’m not worried about what if I fail,” he said. “I know I have guys that pick me up when I fall short. I try and do the same thing for them. I think our team chemistry’s something that’s got us here, kept us strong.”
Gilgeous-Alexander believes Williams has great games ahead in his future. He hopes the next one is in Game 6 in Indianapolis on Thursday.
“I’m not surprised by his performance tonight” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “Like, the kid works super hard. He has the right intentions. He deserves this moment. Now, with that being said, we got one more game to win, and I know he’s not satisfied by this performance.”
Down by 18 late in the first half, the Pacers, the comeback kings of this year’s playoffs, with as many wins in this postseason from 15 points down or more (five) than the rest of the league has combined, including in Game 1 of this series, did what they do best, chipping away slowly but surely. And they did it with Tyrese Haliburton reduced to basically playing decoy on offense due to a right calf injury that he aggravated with just under six minutes to go in the first quarter.
“He’s not 100%,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. “It’s pretty clear.”
Pascal Siakam had a team-high 28 points for Indiana, which will host Game 6 on Thursday night. TJ McConnell added 18 for the Pacers, who sliced an 18-point deficit down to two in the fourth, then watched the Thunder pull away again, and for good.
“It kind of went away from us,” Siakam said. “But the fight was there.”
It was, but now everything favors the Thunder.
