'Really gutsy' Jalen Williams fuels Thunder in Game 5 win - ESPN

OKLAHOMA CITY — The Thunder's 18-point lead had been sliced all the way down to two when the ball swung to Jalen Williams on the right wing.

Williams, a first-time All-Star in his third NBA season, rose to the occasion by rattling in a 3-pointer to halt the Indiana Pacers' momentum.

It was the most important moment of the most impressive performance of Williams' budding career, a 40-point outing to lead Oklahoma City to a 120-109 win in Monday's pivotal Game 5 of the NBA Finals. That 3 sparked an 18-6 run — which also featured a pair of driving buckets and a free throw from Williams — that put the game away for the Thunder and put the franchise one win away from its first championship since moving to Oklahoma City.

«He was really gutsy tonight,» Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said. «He stepped into big plays. Felt like every time we needed a shot, he made it. He wasn't afraid. He was fearless tonight.»

Gilgeous-Alexander delivered another performance that met his MVP standard, scoring 31 points, dishing out 10 assists, blocking two shots and coming up with a pair of steals that helped fuel that fourth-quarter run. It was his 15th 30-point performance of this playoff run, a total exceeded during a single postseason by only Michael Jordan in 1992 and Hakeem Olajuwon in 1995.

But this game will go down in Thunder lore as Williams' night.

Williams, 24, set a new playoff career high with the 40 points on 14-of-25 shooting, including 3-of-5 from 3-point range, topping his 34-point performance in the Thunder's Game 4 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference finals. He put himself in some exclusive company, becoming the third-youngest player to score at least 40 points in a Finals game, trailing