The Oklahoma City Thunder avoided another comeback by the Indiana Pacers and won the fifth game of the final series with a score of 120-109 to position themselves one victory away from their first championship in the history of the franchise in the NBA.
After the result of the fifth game, the series stands 3-2 in favor of Oklahoma City. They were led by Jalen Williams, who scored 40 points, a career playoff record for him, while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31 points that night.
“It wasn’t a perfect game at all, and there is a lot of room for improvement,” said Thunder coach Mark Daigneault. “But our improvement from Game 4 to Game 5 was crucial,” he added.
For the Pacers, Pascal Siakam scored 28 points and his team managed to reduce an 18-point deficit to just two in the final quarter. It seemed like it would be another comeback for the Pacers, but the Thunder made sure to prevent it.
“We let it slip a little bit,” Siakam said. “But the fight was there.”
Tyrese Haliburton was hurt and only score 4 points, all free throws. He went 0 for 6 in field goals attempts.
According to NBA statistics, teams that win the fifth game of the series, after being tied 2-2, have gone on to win the championship in 23 out of 31 occasions, for a 74% success rate.
NBA Finals 2025: Series between Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers
Game 1
Indiana leads the series 1-0
- Result: Indiana 111 - 110 Oklahoma City
Game 2
- Result: Indiana 107 - 123 Oklahoma City
Game 3
Indiana leads the series 2-1
- Result: Oklahoma City 107 - 116 Indiana
Game 4
Series tied 2-2
- Result: Oklahoma City 111 - 104 Indiana
Game 5
Oklahoma City leads the series 3-2
- Result: Indiana 109 - 120 Oklahoma City
Upcoming meetings
Game 6
- Date and time: Thursday, June 19, 2025, 8:30 p.m. ET
- Location: Indiana
Game 7 (if necessary)
- Date and time: Sunday, June 22, 2025, 8:00 p.m. ET
- Location: Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City is one win away from their first NBA title, while Indiana is looking to extend the series to a decisive Game 7.