Former Gonzaga star one win away from clinching NBA championship

Chet Holmgren and the Oklahoma City Thunder are one win away from capturing the 2025 NBA title.

The former Gonzaga standout will head to Indianapolis later this week with a chance to hoist the Larry O'Brien trophy as a champion after helping his squad fend off another comeback attempt by the Indiana Pacers in Game 5 of the NBA Finals.

Jalen Williams dropped a playoff career-high 40 points, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander chipped in 31 points and the Thunder squeezed costly turnovers out of the Pacers down the stretch for a 120-109 victory from the Paycom Center Monday night, putting OKC up 3-2 in this best-of-seven championship series.

The pace early on would've favored Indiana's up-tempo style of play on any other night, but OKC seized an opportunity to take control instead after Tyrese Haliburton came up limp on a drive to the rim during the first quarter.

Even upon the All-NBA guard's return, the Pacers struggled to find any breathing room against OKC's suffocating defense.

Haliburton was largely a non-factor on offense, finishing with four points on 0-for-6 shooting from the field to go with six assists and seven rebounds.

Time will tell if Rick Carlisle's decision to play his superstar guard 34 minutes on an injured leg comes back to bite Indiana in the lead-up to Game 6.

An inspiring third quarter performance from T.J.

McConnell gave the Pacers new life heading into the fourth quarter.

The Arizona product scored 13 points in the third to trim OKC's 14-point halftime lead to just eight going into the final frame.

Back by its dynamic duo, OKC snuffed out one last push from Indiana before falling victim to more late game heroics from Haliburton and company.

After the Pacers made it 95-93 on a 3-pointer from Pascal Siakam with 8:30 left to play in regulation, the Thunder tightened the clamps defensively, holding the opposition to just one field goal over the next 3 minutes and change while forcing four turnovers consecutively during that span.

That helped push the lead back to double-digits with 4 minutes left.

Gilgeous-Alexander and Williams accounted for OKC's last 20 points.

The Thunder scored 32 points off 23 turnovers committed by the Pacers.

OKC also shot 14-of-32 from downtown after going 3-of-16 from deep in Game 4.

Holmgren's former Gonzaga teammate Andrew Nembhard ended the night with seven points, three rebounds, three assists and four turnovers.

Holmgren finished with nine points, 11 rebounds, and three blocks.

He joined ESPN's Scott Van Pelt after the game to discuss the Thunder's win.

On keeping up with Indiana's pace "It's hard to put into words, but you're talking about the pace, you really have to kind of put the wind to the side, and you just have to continue to compete.

You know you're going to get winded out there, going up and down like that, having to execute so much on defense.

You know they throw a lot at you every possession.

You just have to continue to compete." On the most fun part aspect the Finals experience "It's all the little things.

Like you said, this is the biggest stage.

It's easy to get wrapped up and everything that you thought it was growing up, but the beautiful things, all the little things that you got to focus on, you can't get wrapped up in that.

We're playing games.

You got to focus on every single possession all game long.

Try to stack them up and try to come away with wins." On his mentality defensively "Understanding that there's two games to the game of basketball, right two sides to the game, you have to get it done on both ends.

And the shots haven't been going in like I would like to, at the rate that I would like to but, there's a whole second half of the game that I can focus on.

And I just try to do that, try to be there for my team, have their backs, try to execute every single play, get the coverage is done.

And I feel like I can even be even better." On what will be required of OKC to win Game 6 "Nothing different than what we've seen this whole series.

Like you said, they're not going to quit.

They're going to continue to fight, they're going to continue to kick.

No team gets here in the Finals if they quit easily, you know what I'm saying? So we got to bring it all, because we know they're going to bring it all.".

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