The NBA Finals have a way of sifting out flash from foundation. When everything is on the line, the cameras are rolling, fans are roaring, and stakes are spiraling, players either drown in the noise or do something unforgettable. Jalen Williams did the latter in Game 5, not just by dropping a historic 40-point performance, but by radiating a kind of composure that’s usually reserved for seasoned champions. And it wasn’t just fans or analysts watching. A Finals MVP was too—and he dripped into nostalgia.

There was no wide-eyed adrenaline. No moment is too big. Just calculated execution. A trait that Celtics legend Paul Pierce noticed immediately, just because he lived it too. Back in his title days, Pierce understood that winning on the road wasn’t about energy; it was about eliminating the stagnant. That kind of focus, he says, is what Williams displayed in Oklahoma City’s 120-109 victory over the Indiana Pacers.

Pierce was very vocal about Williams being at ease with the pressure as he highlights his expectations from the Pacers coach Rick Carlisle that he has to make necessary adjustments to stop the OKC.: “Jalen Williams is too comfortable. They have to find a way to say, hey, we cannot let both of their stars, all three of their stars, all three of their stars in game four play well.” He said. “Jalen Williams has been getting better as the series has gone along, and then you let the MVPs give you an MVP performance.” But that wasn’t all. He highlighted what separates winners from runners-up. 

“You know, at my Boston Celtics team, we came together on the road,” Pierce recalled. “Because when you’re on the road, your focus tends to be there. You don’t have to worry about tickets and mom and sister and boyfriend and girlfriends and everybody… I’d be totally locked in for this.” The Hall of Famer was realizing that same isolation-born passion in Jalen Williams, who carried out like a guy with no distractions, no second thoughts, just a purpose to take a one-game advantage over the Pacers in a final that awaits writing history.

Williams didn’t just score 40. He put himself in the company of Shaquille O’Neal, Wade, Durant, and Kyrie by becoming the fifth player under 25 in the last four decades to post three consecutive 25+ point games in the NBA Finals. His fourth-quarter surge, 13 points as the Pacers were recovering, solidified Oklahoma City’s hold on the series. It wasn’t loud or flashy. It was calm as the player maintained his composure at the biggest stage of basketball.

Jalen Williams’ Simple Blueprint Speaks Volumes Before Game 6 Showdown

As the series shifts back to Indianapolis, Williams isn’t inflating his Game 5 performance. He isn’t touting records or drawing attention to the history books. “Just play hard,” he told them when they asked him how the Thunder would end this. That same tunnel vision Pierce praised—keeping everything outside the game and focused on the court.

In Thursday’s Game 6, Oklahoma City holds the advantage, not just by score, but by temperament. Adding 31 points and 10 assists, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander reflected that attitude. “We just buckled down and got stops,” Williams said postgame. “That’s a really good team over there.” But Oklahoma City, under two stars in time with the event, seems more like the team assembled for the finish line.

Despite Indiana outshooting the Thunder (45.1% to 42.6%), their 22 turnovers to OKC’s 11 told the real story. Williams didn’t just drop buckets; he destabilized the Pacers‘ structure. As Paul Pierce might say, that’s what winners do on the road: they focus, they adapt, and they leave the last word. But will Williams win the NBA Championship with the Thunder this time? Only time will tell.