The “Z-shaped” pattern of the playoffs has failed. The Thunder defeated the Pacers 120-109 in the decisive Game 5. According to the trend of the previous games, the Pacers should have made adjustments after losing Game 4, and they did show changes. They won the rebounding battle 50-45 and outscored the Thunder 48-42 in paint points, but two blows prevented them from turning these improvements into a victory.

One was that Turner felt unwell and only played 25 minutes in Game 5, looking powerless under the basket. Pacers coach Carlisle had to use Tony Bradley, who hadn’t played in the first four games, but no miracle occurred. Bradley lacked experience and was overwhelmed on defense.

The other was an accident to Haliburton, who injured his calf in the first quarter and couldn’t exert himself, only helping the team through passing. He went 0-for-6 from the field, scored only 4 points, and had no steals. This was a devastating blow to the Pacers. Although McConnell, coming off the bench, scored 13 points in the third quarter, he couldn’t replace Haliburton for the entire game.

Even so, the Thunder didn’t win easily. With 8 minutes and 30 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Siakam hit a three-pointer off a pass from Mathurin, narrowing the score to 93-95, just 2 points behind. It seemed the Pacers were about to replicate the miracle of Game 1 of the Finals, but unlike the first game, the Pacers committed too many turnovers in Game 5, with 23 turnovers leading to 32 points conceded. When Haliburton couldn’t stably drive with the ball, the ball was passed to Nembhard and Siakam, who committed too many turnovers in their ball-handling attacks, totaling 10.

At the same time, the Thunder’s offense changed. In the final 8 minutes and 30 seconds of the fourth quarter, the Thunder erupted, scoring 25 points while limiting the Pacers to only 16. These 25 points included free throws, Carson Wallace’s fast-break dunks, and solo scores from Alexander and Jalen Williams. Notably, 11 of these 25 points came from assisted baskets, which was different from before—especially contrasting with their Game 4 victory.

Jalen Williams went 14-of-25 from the field and 3-of-5 from three-point range in Game 5, scoring 40 points. His explosion was predictable: first, the Pacers focused most of their defensive energy on Alexander, giving Williams more open spaces; second, he had scored 26 and 27 points in the previous two games, adapting to the Pacers’ defense.

However, there were other reasons behind these 40 points. The Thunder solved their offensive issues in Game 5. In the first four games, except for the blowout victory in Game 2, they had no team organization rhythm, relying on talent and mainly playing one-on-one. In three of the first four games, the Thunder had assists numbers among the bottom three of the entire season: 11 assists in Game 4, 13 in Game 1, and 16 in Game 3.

This was abnormal. Throughout the regular season, the Thunder only had 16 assists when resting all starters in the final game, with a season-average of 26.9 assists. In the first round against the Grizzlies, they averaged 25.8 assists; in the Western Conference Semifinals against the Nuggets, 25.4; and in the Western Conference Finals against the Timberwolves, 24.8.

In the first four Finals games, only Game 2 saw the Thunder in normal form. Off the bench, Caruso and Aaron Wiggins combined for 38 points, Alexander scored 34 points with 8 assists, and the team had 25 assists. This was also their relatively easy win, defeating the Pacers by 15 points.

In the other three games, the Thunder lost Games 1 and 3, and Game 4 was extremely tough, barely won by Alexander’s individual heroics—he scored 15 points in the final 4 minutes and 38 seconds. But this was clearly unsustainable.

In the first three games of the first four, Alexander scored 10, 5, and 3 points in the fourth quarter respectively. The Pacers were willing to gamble with the Thunder, trusting Nembhard’s defense and believing that through constant running, Alexander’s stamina would be exhausted, and he couldn’t replicate miracles every game.

In Game 5, the Thunder had 24 assists, 16 in the first half, 5 in the fourth quarter, and only 3 in the worst-performing third quarter. The number of assists determined the Thunder’s offensive efficiency, so the Pacers’ defensive strategy was clear: cut off the connection between Thunder players, force them to play one-on-one, and wait for their stamina to drain and shooting to falter.

In other words, the Thunder found the code to win in Game 5—counterattacks and pick-and-rolls based on defense.

Can the Pacers wait for a fully recovered Haliburton? That’s the biggest suspense for Game 6. It’s extremely difficult. To force a Game 7, Haliburton playing through injury isn’t enough—he must perform better than before the injury.

Haliburton had a game-winning buzzer-beater in Game 1 of the Finals and recorded a near-triple-double of 22 points, 10 assists, and 9 rebounds in Game 3, but his performance hasn’t been satisfying. The Pacers need his one-on-one scoring more than ever now. In the regular season, Haliburton averaged 1.16 points per isolation, surpassing Alexander; in the series against the Bucks, he averaged 1.36 points per isolation; against the Cavaliers, 1.04; against the Knicks, 1.11. However, in the Finals against the Thunder, he averaged only 0.5 points per isolation in Game 5 and the first four games.

So far in the Finals, home and away courts no longer affect the outcome. Haliburton’s magic may come to an end in Game 6.