The Oklahoma City Thunder are a win away from capping off one of the all-time great seasons in NBA history. Jalen Williams’ 40-point night was the deserved headline grabber in the Thunder’s 120-109 Game 5 win over the Indiana Pacers, but the overarching story of the 2025 NBA Finals has been OKC’s elite defense living up to the hype.

In Game 5 of the NBA Finals, he showed he's pretty good as a more traditional point guard, too. He had 31 points and 10 assists in a secondary role to Jalen Williams as the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Indiana Pacers 120-109 on Monday night. The Thunder took a 3-2 lead in the series and now are a win short of their first NBA title.

It's fitting that Oklahoma City is on the verge of a championship for the same reason it won so many games and set so many records this season: Defense.

SportsLine expert Jimmie Kaylor gives optimal Showdown NBA DFS lineup advice for Game 3 of the NBA Finals 2025 on Wednesday

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During its 111-104 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Friday in Game 4 of the NBA Finals, Oklahoma City became the highest-scoring team in league history, eclipsing a record the Golden State Warriors held for six years.

So transfixed by not only the team, but also the city, Anderson’s magazine story was the precursor to “Boom Town” — Anderson’s book, published in 2018, that intertwines the rise of Oklahoma City with Thunder basketball. “Boom Town” is equal parts historical and hysterical in telling the story of Oklahoma City.

No team in NBA history has scored more points in a season than the Thunder. That gave the Thunder 12,162 for the season, breaking the mark of 12,161 scored by the Golden State Warriors in 104 games during the 2018-19 season.