Thunder laud effort of 'fearless' Williams in G5

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 only Magic Johnson and Russell Westbrook.

"It's something more that I'll look back on later than worry about what kind statement it makes," said Williams, who also had six rebounds and four assists in the win. "I think the only statement we have right now is we're up 3-2 and we have to still go earn another win."

Williams has been a major factor in positioning the Thunder to clinch a title in Thursday's Game 6.

He has at least 25 points and five rebounds in the last three games, the first player younger than 25 to have such a streak during the Finals since Shaquille O'Neal in 1995. Williams has scored 91 points during that stretch, the most prolific three-game point total of his playoff career, while handling a large share of the point guard responsibilities to ease the burden on Gilgeous-Alexander against the Pacers' full-court pressure.

"I'm just out there being aggressive," Williams said. "Like I said, I have a staff and teammates that allow me to do that, figure out my game and just figure out spots where I can try and be dynamic. A lot of that is just me trying to pick my spots and do what I can in order to win the game. Not every game's going to be 40 or 25. It's kind of like doing whatever it takes to win the game."

Williams attacked relentlessly in Game 5, going 9-of-16 in shots around the rim, almost all off of drives. That's a facet of his game that he focused on developing this season.

"When he's at his best, he's playing with that type of force," Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. "That was an unbelievable performance by him, just throughout the whole game. He really was on the gas the entire night. Applied a ton of pressure. Thought he made a lot of the right plays. We're going to need a similar type of approach in Game 6 from him."

Williams entered the season with a lot to prove after he struggled during the second round of last season's playoffs, when the Thunder were eliminated by the Dallas Mavericks. He took another significant leap, averaging career bests of 21.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.6 steals while earning third-team All-NBA and second-team All-Defense recognition.

There have been ups and downs for Williams during the Thunder's playoff run, including a 10-of-43 three-game shooting funk in the second round against the Denver Nuggets, but he has repeatedly come through in critical spots for Oklahoma City. He's averaging 21.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.4 steals, silencing any doubts about whether the Thunder had a co-star alongside Gilgeous-Alexander capable of filling that role for a title team.

"He deserves this moment," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "Now with that being said, we got one more game to win, and I know he's not satisfied by this performance."