NBA Game Notes (June 16, 2025)

Here are the NBA game notes for games that were played on June 16, 2025.

Jun 17, 2025

Three Stars

The three stars in ice hockey are the three best players in a game, with the “first star” considered the best of the three players, similar to the player of the match in other sports. Here are my “three stars” from yesterday’s NBA games.

First ⭐️

Jalen Williams scored a game-high 40 points (also a playoff career high) as the Oklahoma City Thunder knocked off the Indiana Pacers 120-109 in Game 5 of the NBA Finals to take a 3-2 series lead. Williams shot 14-25 from the field (3-5 on threes) and 9-12 from the free throw line. He added six rebounds, four assists, and one steal, committing just one turnover in 35 minutes of action.

Second ⭐️

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31 points and dished out a game-high 10 assists in the Thunder’s win over the Pacers. Gilgeous-Alexander also blocked a game-high four shots and swiped two steals in 38 minutes played. He went 9-21 from the floor and 13-14 from the charity stripe.

Third ⭐️

Pascal Siakam racked up team highs of 28 points, three steals, and two blocks (tied with Bennedict Mathurin) in the Pacers’ loss to the Thunder. Siakam shot 9-15 from the field (3-6 on threes) and 7-8 from the free throw line. He also grabbed six rebounds and handed out five assists in 33 minutes of court time.

Milestones

Jalen Williams and Gilgeous-Alexander are just the third duo in NBA Finals history to record a 40-point game and a 30-point, 10-assist game, respectively, in the same contest. They join the Los Angeles Lakers’ Wilt Chamberlain and Jerry West (May 6, 1970) and the Cleveland Cavaliers’ Kyrie Irving and LeBron James (June 9, 2017).
Gilgeous-Alexander has scored at least 30 points in a game 15 times in the 2025 NBA Playoffs. The only other players in league history to produce at least 15 such games in a single postseason are Michael Jordan (16, 1992), Hakeem Olajuwon (16, 1995), and Kobe Bryant (15, 2009).
Gilgeous-Alexander has scored 162 points in the 2025 NBA Finals. The only players to score more points through the first five games of their Finals career are Rick Barry (201), Allen Iverson (178), and Dwyane Wade (172).
Gilgeous-Alexander’s four blocks are the most by a player in a 30-point, 10-assist game in the Finals since the NBA began tracking blocks in 1973-74. The previous mark of three blocks was set by LeBron James on June 16, 2016.

Streaking

Jalen Williams has scored at least 25 points in each of his last three games. Prior to this run, he had never recorded consecutive 25-point games in the playoffs.
Siakam has scored in double figures in each of his 38 playoff games with the Pacers, averaging 21.2 PPG on 53.1% shooting from the field. That streak extends to 63 games dating back to his stint with the Toronto Raptors.

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Jalen Williams led all scorers last night, pouring in a playoff-career-high 40 points. Gilgeous-Alexander ranked second with 31 points, while Siakam placed third with 28.
The Thunder’s Chet Holmgren was the night’s top board man, collecting 11 rebounds. His teammates, Luguentz Dort and Isaiah Hartenstein, and the Pacers’ Bennedict Mathurin were runners-up with eight boards apiece.
Gilgeous-Alexander was the nightly leader in assists, delivering 10 dimes. He was followed by the Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton with six assists and Siakam with five.
Haliburton went 0-6 from the floor, the first time he’s failed to make a field goal in 36 career playoff games.