After trading wins through the first four games of the NBA Finals, Oklahoma City broke the series tie to command a 3-2 lead with back-to-back wins.

The Thunder dominated in their return to Paycom Center as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams combined for 71 points en route to a 120-109 victory. Indiana took a narrow 12-11 lead with 9:03 left in the first quarter and never reclaimed it. 

Oklahoma City’s defense stirred havoc on the Pacers all game. 

Game one hero Tyrese Haliburton was battling a lower leg injury and was held to only four points. Haliburton went 0-6 from the field, only scoring from the free-throw line.

Gilgeous-Alexander recorded four blocks and two steals in addition to his 31-point performance. The Thunder outnumbered Indiana in blocks 12 to four and steals 15 to nine.

In the fourth, the Thunder shook off a rally by the Pacers that closed their 18-point lead to only two points. 

A behind-the-back pass from Gilgeous-Alexander led to a Williams deep ball. Followed by a scoop-and-score by fellow ex-Wildcat Cason Wallace, the OKC lead extended to seven.

Indiana continued to be outmatched by the Thunder defense.

Gilgeous-Alexander persistently split through the Pacers’ double teams and found open teammates, fueling an 18-to-2-point run to close out the win. Claiming the first back-to-back victory for either team this series.

The Kentucky alum finished with a double-double with 31 points and 10 assists, his first of the series. 

Game five marked Gilgeous-Alexander’s fourth 30-point performance of the NBA Finals. Currently, he is averaging 32.4 points, 5.0 assists, 4.6 rebounds, 1.8 blocks, and 2.4 steals per game.

A Finals victory almost looks certain for the Thunder. Given Halliburton’s injury and the palpable momentum swinging in Oklahoma City’s favor with consecutive wins.

Gilgeous-Alexander is one win away from claiming the first Finals MVP for any Kentucky player in NBA history. Additionally, Gilgeous-Alexander would join an exclusive club of legends to earn Finals MVP and league MVP in the same season.

He would become the first double-crowned MVP since LeBron James in 2013.

In a turn of equally surprising and exciting news, a freshly graduated Ansley Almonor will be returning to Lexington this summer to play for the TBT alumni team, La Familia.

Almonor, who provided a legendary midseason spark off the bench for the Cats just last season, announced his decision live on BBN Tonight, saying, “What’s up BBN! I’ll be coming back to Lex this summer to play for La Familia.”

“I already miss playing in front of BBN… so I can’t wait to go out there and represent you guys one more time.”

After multiple seasons at FDU and transferring to Kentucky as a sub-300 ranked player in the portal, Almonor proved his worth and then some as one of the Wildcats’ most consistent shooters from downtown.

Not only that, but he stood as a shining example of what can be achieved in the transfer portal in spite of arbitrary rankings and miscalculated projections.

A truly one-of-a-kind story that, with this latest development, has been given another chapter.

Almonor joins the Harrison twins (Aaron and Andrew), Willie Cauley-Stein, Doron Lamb, and DeAndre Liggins as the youngest player on a roster full of former fan-favorite Cats, and he likely won’t be the last.

Once a Wildcat, always a Wildcat: whether you wore the jersey for the last time nearly two decades ago, or barely more than two months.

Kentucky’s star guard Otega Oweh has instantly been involved since his decision to return to the Wildcats, appearing at the father and son camp and taking pictures with young fans, to practicing with the team as summer unfolds.

Getting to this point in the timeline may seem like a blur to some Kentucky fans, with so many rumors swirling around his name during the NBA Draft process. At one point, we had no idea what Oweh’s future looked like, then his stock elevated after his performances in the combine and speculation that he could go late in the second round started to become a reality.

Oweh, on record, took every workout that was seemingly available and did his rounds before ultimately making his decision, which was smart in his book, but Big Blue Nation (BBN), and maybe even some SEC rivals were really watching the clock as the deadline ticked closer.

Ultimately, Oweh confirmed in a recent media scrum that he did record his announcement video beforehand and didn’t bother to make the alternate version.

It was always Kentucky one would say, but as the season inches closer, it’s always fun to revisit the past and add in the details as time passes.

What exact feedback did Oweh receive from the NBA? The now senior revealed that he heard some positive things, but also felt there’s some clear indicators why one wouldn’t deem him a “lock” to be one of the sixty players selected in the draft.

“They really just wanted to see me take more,” Oweh said when talking about his shooting. “My percentage was good both years, it was just the volume.”

On the bright side of things, Oweh wasn’t just told “we need to see more” entirely, but received some very good comments on his aggression and hunger to score.

“(They liked) my intensity, my motor, my ability to produce and rack up points,” Oweh said. “Just gotta improve my playmaking and shooting, but everyone said they like my game.”

Thankfully, BBN won’t have to “worry” about anything NBA related until around this time next year, where Oweh will eventually and more than likely hear his name called. Before that, however, the superstar will look to sharpen his skills this offseason and become an even bigger household name than he already is.