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Let’s get right to it.
🏀 Good morning to all but especially to …
JALEN WILLIAMS AND THE OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER
Somewhere amid a thunderstorm, a star shined through. Jalen Williams played the best game of his burgeoning career on the biggest stage, and the Thunder are one game away from becoming NBA champions after a 120-109 Game 5 win over the Pacers.
Williams scored a playoff career-high 40 points on 14-for-25 shooting to help Oklahoma City hold off a trademark Indiana rally. He’s the fifth-youngest player ever (24 years, 63 days) with a 40-point game in the Finals.
It’s not really the number of points — though impressive — that stands out, but how and when he got them.
- Williams made three 3s (he had only made three total in the previous four games) and got to the free throw line 12 times, converting nine.
- He scored 24 points in the second half and 11 in the fourth quarter.
- When Indiana cut an 18-point deficit to two early in the fourth quarter, he nailed a 3-pointer and Indiana never got closer.
The shot chart is a thing of beauty: long-range shots finally falling, midrange jumpers sprinkled in and a ton of attempts at the basket. If you were wondering if Williams is a championship-worthy Robin, he made an emphatic affirmative statement, Brad Botkin writes.
- Botkin: “Williams is an All-Star. An All-NBA player, in fact. He’s a two-way beast and one of the best isolation scorers in the league. But you don’t hear enough about this because Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is even better. Williams is the Scottie Pippen to SGA’s Michael Jordan, and he was at it again in Monday’s Game 5 with 40 points, six rebounds and four assists … “
Batman was pretty good, too. Gilgeous-Alexander had 31 points, 10 assists and four blocks, the only player to record that stat line in a Finals game since individual blocks became official in 1982-83.
The four blocks highlight a tremendous team defensive effort to back Williams and Gilgeous-Alexander’s offensive exploits. The Thunder became the only team to record 15 steals and 12 blocks in a Finals game. Oklahoma City forced 23 turnovers and turned them into 32 points.
The stars, the depth, the defense and the tenacity were on full display, a tremendous effort when it was needed most.
😄 Honorable mentions
🏀 And not such a good morning for …
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TYRESE HALIBURTON AND THE INDIANA PACERS
The ingredients for another miracle comeback were there. Pascal Siakam got red hot. T.J. McConnell had an out-of-nowhere offensive takeover. The Thunder went cold for a bit.
The only thing missing? Tyrese Haliburton, who scored four points on 0-for-6 shooting. Indiana’s star guard left briefly early with a nagging calf injury, and he was clearly not his usual self. The issue for the Pacers is they need Haliburton at his usual self and then some, which he hasn’t been against Oklahoma City’s swarming defense, Jack Maloney writes.
- Maloney: “As frustrating as this defeat was for Haliburton and the Pacers, the bigger concern is his status moving forward. The Pacers now face a must-win Game 6 back at home on Thursday. Based on how the prior games have gone in Indianapolis, they would feel confident about getting the result they need to force Game 7. But only if Haliburton can be himself.”
This is the first time Indiana has lost consecutive games this postseason.
😞 Not so honorable mentions
⚾ Arkansas’ Gage Wood throws 19-strikeout no-hitter at College World Series
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With its season on the line, Arkansas turned to a pitcher whose stats didn’t match his stuff.
This time, though, the two came together for a historic outing. Gage Wood pitched a 19-strikeout no-hitter to save the Razorbacks’ season in a 3-0 elimination game win over Murray State at the College World Series.
- It’s the third no-no in CWS history, and the first since Oklahoma State’s Jim Wixson threw one against North Carolina in 1960. Texas‘ Jim Ehrler did the same against Tufts in 1950.
- Wood had a perfect game entering the eighth inning but plunked Dom Decker with a pitch. It was the longest CWS perfect game bid since 1999.
- Wood’s 19 strikeouts were the most in a nine-inning game in CWS history and also an Arkansas record.
Wood entered the day with a 5.02 ERA across nine starts in an injury-plagued season, worst of any Razorbacks pitcher who had thrown at least one inning. But those numbers belie his pitching arsenal, a big reason he’s No. 20 in R.J. Anderson’s 2025 MLB Draft prospects.
- Anderson: “Nowadays, performance matters far less than projection — the progressive teams are concerned not with what a player has done, not with what they are doing, but with what they can do. … He’s going to go much higher than the statline suggests because of a quality arsenal (including a mid-to-upper-90s fastball and two breaking balls) and a stature and release point combination that creates a very flat plane to the top of the strike zone. If everything clicks — and nothing tears or breaks — he could develop into the best pitcher in the class.”
Murray State just found out what happens when everything clicks.
🏀 Under-the-radar NBA teams that could shape the offseason
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With the Desmond Bane blockbuster going down over the weekend, the NBA “offseason” began before the season actually, you know, ended.
Could we see more fireworks soon? Kevin Durant will be on the move. Maybe Giannis Antetokounmpo, too. But what about under-the-radar teams — teams like the Grizzlies and Magic — who could shape the offseason? Sam Quinn has four teams to keep an eye on, including …
- Quinn: “Pelicans — Joe Dumars says that Zion Williamson will ‘continue to be a focal point’ for the Pelicans moving forward, but can this franchise really endure anymore injuries out of him? … Teams would line up around the block for a chance to trade for Trey Murphy III. His combination of athleticism and shooting is exceedingly rare, and he took advantage of the on-ball reps he got last season when everyone was hurt. … Herb Jones isn’t a star, but he defends them better than almost anyone and is locked into a deal that pays him less than the mid-level exception for the next two years. He’d be a godsend for half of the league right now.”
🏀 WNBA Power Rankings, Commissioner’s Cup scenarios
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In last week’s WNBA Power Rankings, there were two undefeated teams. This week, there are zero. The Lynx fell to the Storm on Wednesday, and the Liberty fell to the Fever (and a Caitlin Clark 3-point barrage) Saturday, ending both teams’ perfect starts at 9-0.
With Clark back, Indiana jumped to third in Jack Maloney’s latest Power Rankings.
- Maloney: “In Clark’s return, they immediately looked like a contender again. … The Fever’s offensive rating with Clark on the court this season is 108.5, equivalent to third in the league. Without her, their offensive rating plummets to 98.4, equivalent to 10th in the league.”
New York and Minnesota remain No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, in the Power Rankings, but let’s give some love to the Dream. After going 15-25 last year, Atlanta is 8-3 and third in Jack’s rankings.
Tonight, the Power Rankings matter little, though. The Commissioner’s Cup opening round concludes with a massive six-game slate, headlined by Dream-Liberty.
- Sun vs. Fever
- Dream vs. Liberty
- Mystics vs. Sky
- Valkyries vs. Wings
- Aces vs. Lynx
- Storm vs. Sparks
The top team from the East and the top team from the West advance to the championship. Here are the scenarios:
In the West …
- Lynx advance with a win or a Storm loss
- Storm advance with a win and a Lynx loss
In the East …
- Dream advance with a win
- Liberty advance with a win and a Fever loss
- Fever advance with a win and a Dream loss
📺 What we’re watching Tuesday
🏀 Sun at Fever, 7 p.m. on NBA TV
⚾ Mets at Braves, 7:15 p.m. on MLB Network
🏒 Game 6: Oilers at Panthers (Panthers lead 3-2), 8 p.m. on TNT/truTV
🏀 Storm at Sparks, 10 p.m. on NBA TV
⚾ Padres at Dodgers, 10:10 p.m. on TBS
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