Shai Gilgeous-Alexander became the NBA’s Most Valuable Player this season primarily by being a dominant scorer.

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 former Santa Clara star 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, with a shot to win it tonight.

Gilgeous-Alexander was the league’s scoring champion this season, and he has led the team in scoring in all but four playoff games. Even when Williams has had breakout performances, they’ve largely been secondary to Gilgeous-Alexander’s gaudy numbers.

Not this time. Williams scored a career playoff-high 40 points, so Gilgeous-Alexander didn’t need to force things against Indiana’s constant double-teams.

Gilgeous-Alexander still produced big numbers, going 9 for 21 from the field and making 13 of 14 free throws. But he was thrilled that Williams took the lead role.

“He can shoulder a load,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “I’ve said this before — he does so many things for us as a basketball team on both ends of the floor when he’s the best version of himself ... he was great tonight. Makes a world of a difference when he’s that good, for sure.”

The Indiana Pacers have agreed to trade their 23rd overall choice in next week’s NBA draft to New Orleans for a 2026 first-round pick, the Pelicans announced.

The deal gives the Pelicans two first-round picks — the seventh and 23rd overall — in the draft, raising the prospect that New Orleans could package both in a deal to move up in the first round next Wednesday.

The Pelicans also will receive the rights to Mojave King, a 2023 second-round draft choice who has played for Indiana’s G League affiliate as well as overseas in Puerto Rico and New Zealand.

The Pacers are getting back a 2026 pick they had traded to the Toronto Raptors in a 2024 deal sending Pascal Siakam to Indiana. Last February, Toronto dealt that pick to New Orleans as part of a trade that sent Brandon Ingram to the Raptors.

Atlanta Hawks general manager Onsi Saleh has bolstered his front office staff by naming former New Orleans Pelicans general manager Bryson Graham as senior vice president of basketball operations.

Saleh also named former Philadelphia 76ers executive vice president Peter Dinwiddie as senior vice president of strategy and analytics.