Welp

They got enough right, or so it seemed. So ... it seemed.

Pascal Siakam with 28 points, six boards, five assists, three steals and two blocked shots?

Check.

Forty-three points off the bench, led by T.J. McConnell (18) and Obi Toppin (12)?

Check.

A 50-45 advantage on the glass, including 18 offensive boards?

Check.

And last but hardly least ...

Another stirring comeback from 18 down in the second quarter, a signature Indiana Pacers meme?

Check.

But the final score in Game 5 of the NBA Finals was Oklahoma City 120, Indiana 109, which was about what everyone figured. Jalen Williams (a playoff high 40 points) and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (31) went for 71 of Oke City's 120. They also combined for eight rebounds, 14 assists, three steals and four blocks. And if the Thunder were outboarded this time, they still punished Indiana with second chances, because 19 of their 45 rebounds were on the offensive glass.

You can't give a team as good as the Thunder that many do-overs. It's like the "thank you, sir, may I have another" scene in "Animal House," and the Pacers are Kevin Bacon.

Of course, it didn't help that Tyrese Haliburton re-injured his leg early and Andrew Nembhard was a no-show, because without them the Pacers' latest miracle finish was finished before it started. Haliburton was 0-for-6 from the field and finished with four points; Nembhard managed just seven. And together, they were 0-for-6 from Threeville.

The Pacers' firepower from the arc, plus their ball movement, is what fuels them. Without them -- and without a healthy Haliburton to ignite the ball-movement part -- they are no match for the Thunder.

And so Thunder by 11, and now they're a win away from finishing it, and, welp, so it goes. Back to Indy we go for Game 6, where the Basketball State surely will not allow a bunch of interlopers to celebrate a championship on its hallowed turf. The plotline the series has been following since Game 2 still holds, at least for now: A seven-game fight to the finish.

Onward.