The Oklahoma City Thunder are one victory away from winning its first National Basketball Association championship in its franchise history.
The Thunder defeated the Indiana Pacers 120-109 in front of a raucous home crowd to take a 3-2 lead in the best of seven series on Monday night.
Oklahoma City’s dynamic duo of Jalen Williams and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander turned in magnificent performances as they combined for 71 points. Williams was the star of the game with a playoff career high 40 points. Williams added six rebounds and four assists while shooting 14 of 25 from the field. Williams scored the biggest bucket in the game in the fourth quarter after the Pacers had cut an 18-point deficit to 95-93. He hit a 3-pointer from the right wing to push the lead to 98-93, which sparked a decisive final run for the Thunder.
Gilgeous-Alexander, the NBA’s Most Valuable Player, was also brilliant with 31 points, 10 assists, four blocks, two steals and two rebounds. With his 31-point point effort tonight, Gilgeous-Alexander becomes only the fourth player in NBA history to score at least 30 points in 15 games in a single postseason. SGA joins a list that includes Michael Jordan (1992), Hakeem Olajuwon (1995) and Kobe Bryant (2009).
Oklahoma City will attempt to close out its championship season on Thursday night when the series returns to Indiana. Tip off will be at 7:30 p.m. If the Pacers win on Thursday, they will force a seventh and deciding game, which will be played on Sunday at 7 p.m.