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Jalen Williams scored 40 points for Oklahoma City Thunder as they held off an Indiana Pacers comeback to win 120-109 and take a 3-2 lead in the NBA Finals.

The Pacers reduced an 18-point deficit from the second quarter to two points in the fourth quarter before Williams, whose tally was a career best in a play-off game, and team-mate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander helped guide the Thunder to victory.

NBA Most Valuable Player Gilgeous-Alexander provided 31 points along with 10 assists as home side Oklahoma moved one win away from securing the NBA title in the best-of-seven series.

“My team-mates instil a lot of confidence in me to go out and be me,” Williams said. “And [coach] Mark [Daigneault] has done a good job of telling me to just be myself.

“I don’t got to be anything more and that’s given me a lot of confidence.”

The Pacers had overcome a 15-point deficit in game one to win but could not repeat the feat in game five.

“Tonight was the exact same game as game one, to be honest,” Williams said. “Learning through these finals is what makes this team good and we were able to do that.”

Game six will take place in Indianapolis on Thursday at 20:30 local time (Friday, 01:00 BST), with Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton insisting he will be ready for the contest.

Haliburton scored just four points in 34 minutes of action in game five, with Indiana coach Rick Carlisle saying the player was “not 100%”.

He added: “It’s pretty clear. But I don’t think he’s going to miss the next game.

“We were concerned at half-time. He insisted on playing.”

Haliburton said: “It’s the Finals, man. I’ve worked my whole life to be here and I want to be out there to compete, help my team-mates any way I can.

Johnny Sexton told Ireland fly-halves Sam Prendergast and Jack Crowley to “delete social media” in order to guard themselves from online commentary during the early stages of their careers.

Following Sexton’s retirement, there has been intense debate over whether Leinster fly-half Prendergast or Munster’s Crowley should become his long-term successor.

Sexton says both players have “the world at their feet”, but the 39-year-old is dismayed by how their competitive rivalry has highlighted the “split” between Leinster and Munster fans.

The former Ireland and Leinster captain experienced something similar at the start of his Test career when he battled Munster great Ronan O’Gara for the shirt.

“One thing I disagree with is the narrative around it, in terms of there’s obviously a split in the country in terms of Munster and Leinster,” said Sexton, who has worked with Prendergast and Crowley since November in his role as Ireland kicking coach.

“I’ve been there before, I’ve been in that situation. With social getting bigger and bigger, it’s tough on them at times. We should be supporting whoever is picked and getting fully behind them.

Sexton, who explained his rivalry with O’Gara during the formative stages of his Test career was “tough”, said he is not sure if Prendergast or Crowley have been affected by the online discourse.

“Sometimes you can get a sense, but I’m not sure. All you can do is try to advise in terms of what worked for me,” added the five-time Six Nations winner.

“I was exposed to it a little bit at the very start and it’s tough, because as a kid all you want to do is play for Ireland and then you do it and suddenly you’re getting criticised – not all the time, but sometimes – and you’re like, ‘wow, this is tougher than I thought it’d be’, but it builds a resilience.

“You find out who are your mates, who you can trust and those you can lean on. Going forward, they’ll be stronger for it.”

While Sexton feels Prendergast and Crowley deserve time to prove their worth, he believes they are already ahead of where he was at the same stage of his career.

“The work ethic they have, they’re humble guys,” said Sexton, who will continue to work with Ireland’s fly-halves in a full-time capacity after he completes his British and Irish Lions coaching duties this summer.

When the death threats first appeared at the French Open, Katie Boulter had just broken a tiebreaker.

The Briton’s victory in the match was irrelevant.

“Hope you get cancer”, said one message.

Another, which was filled with expletives, made the comments “candles and a coffin for your entire family” and “grandmother’s grave if she’s not dead by tomorrow”

A third person said, “Go to hell, I lost the money my mother gave me.”

The British number two’s response, as she reads through them 10 days later, is a mix of despair, resignation and fear.

Boulter’s reasoning for sharing the messages is two-fold.

She claims that this kind of abusive content has become “the norm.” Boulton, 28, is concerned about how it might affect younger players.

“At the very start of my career, it’s probably something I took very personally… getting comments about the way you look”, she says.

Every time you use your phone, it becomes more obvious.

I believe that the number and quality of what people say are increasing. I don’t think there’s anything off the cards now. “

During her French Open first-round encounter with Carole Monnet on May 29, she sent a message to her loved ones warning them.

Boulter rallied to win the first-set tie-break, becoming the first woman to claim a victory at Roland Garros, winning 6-7 (4-7) 6-1 6-1.

As she reflects on the messages she receives, she says it is hard to differentiate between those that constitute a genuine risk and those that do not.

Boulton responds, “I think it kind of shows how vulnerable we are. You really have no idea who is visiting the site. You really don’t know if they’re nearby or if they know where you live or anything like that. “

She shook her head as she reads the message hoping that she will get cancer.

She responds, “I just wonder who the person is who has sent that.”

Boulter believes a lot of the abuse she is sent is from people who have placed bets on her matches, given it comes after victories as well as defeats.

The impact is obvious, despite her claims that she has improved with moving on or simply refraining from reading her direct messages.

It’s not something you want to read right away after an emotional loss, she says.

” A lot of the time you get it after you win as well. “

Statistics obtained exclusively from BBC Sport reveal how much players are being abused on social media and what steps are being taken to stop it.

According to data science firm Signify, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), about 8, 000 abusive, violent, or threatening messages were made available to 458 tennis players on their social media accounts in 2024.

A significant proportion of abuse stems from betting, according to Signify, which has been working with tennis authorities on detecting abuse through an artificial intelligence-led detection system called Threat Matrix.

More than a quarter of all abuse (26%) was directed at five players.

The most popular account sent 263 abusive messages, and 15 of them were handed over to law enforcement.

Nine of the 10 most prolific accounts – the majority of which were related to angry gamblers – were either suspended or had content removed.

The tennis authorities and the betting industry received further information about 39 account holders.

In response to 40% of all reported abuse, which was clearly related to gambling activity because of the abuse’s timing or content, angry gamblers sent 40% of the time throughout the year.

Asked for a response, a Betting and Gaming Council spokesperson said its members” do not tolerate abuse on social media, which has no place in betting or sport”.

It added that “It is crucial social media companies take immediate action against users and remove offensive content.”

Boulter, who ranks 39th in the world, claims that players also have a problem with explicit images.

Boulter claims that she has experienced a lot of those kinds of things, though she acknowledged that many of those things have been “filtered out through Instagram.”

” I have noticed that more in my hidden messages or requests, which is a place I don’t go to very often.

“That’s a bigger issue as well.” Really, young people shouldn’t be receiving or seeing things like that.

Boulter says she has occasionally engaged with those who have sent her abuse, in an effort to get them to think about what they have said.

She says, “I just tried to send them a nice message. Maybe they can look at themselves and say, “Oh, well maybe I shouldn’t have sent that.”

“Oh no, I’m a huge fan,” is one of the responses I actually receive from them. I’m so sorry. Although I didn’t mean to send you that stuff, it was sensitive. I still back you, you know. I think you’re amazing. ‘

They “don’t sometimes realize what they’ve actually said to these people.”

Boulter is getting ready to get more abusive when she plays at her own Grand Slam.

“Wimbledon for me would probably be pretty astronomical”, she explains, adding she also receives abuse based on the performances of her fiance – Australian world number 12 Alex de Minaur.

We actually both get a little bit from one another as a couple, so he frequently gets some of my matches when we lose, and he occasionally gets his when he wins, too.

The Frenchwoman urged online trolls to remember that players are “humans.”

And she suggested tournaments partnering with betting companies added to the problems.

Supporters of Garcia’s message included US Open champion Jessica Pegula and five-time major champion Iga Swiatek.

Pegula described “continuous threats to death” and “family threats” as “normal” now.

The American has joined others in the sport calling for the gambling industry to help tackle prolific and threatening message connected to betting.

No player should have to endure online abuse, she said.

The social media and gambling companies should address the issue head-on and take immediate action to protect those who are threatened.

In May 2023, American Taylor Townsend shared a screenshot of the death threat and racist abuse she received in an email after losing a match.

The level of racist abuse Jay Clarke and Sloane Stephens had previously exposed on social media.

Tennis authorities used Threat Matrix for the first time in January 2024 thanks to a collaboration between the ITF, WTA, All England Lawn Tennis Club (ALTC) and the USTA (USTA). Over the past five years, it has been employed in other sports.

It covers WTA and ITF players throughout the year, with all competitors offered the service during Wimbledon and the US Open.

Players are given security advice and the opportunity to share abuse they’ve received via direct messaging.

AELTC’s CEO, Sally Bolton, claimed that the abuse levels that are currently present have “become significantly worse.”

” We try very hard to protect the players when they’re on site and digitally we are investing in helping to support them to not have that abuse happen, “she said.

We must consider how to reduce some of the threat and risk associated with gambling on sport because it’s disappointing that athletes are unable to carry out their activities without being subjected to abuse.

We were told by the WTA and ITF that protecting players from online abuse was “a key priority.”

” From law enforcement escalation and platform intervention to banning abusers from our events, perpetrators must understand that they will face consequences for their actions, “they said in a statement.

The partnerships in place, which include betting companies, were supported by the WTA and ITF, which argue that this increases regulation and generates revenue for projects like Threat Matrix.

It is crucial that the information used for that purpose be from one reliable source because “sport betting is inevitable.” This is why we have rigorously vetted partnerships with official data suppliers – without them, betting on tennis could take place in unregulated markets, based on unofficial data, for which there is no oversight and little or no deterrent to corruptors. “

Signify Group CEO Jonathan Hirshler pointed out that a “significant proportion” of abuse results from a “relatively small” number of accounts.

Katie Boulter had just lost a tie-break at the French Open when the death threats started.

It did not matter that the Briton would go on to win the match.

“Hope you get cancer,” said one message.

Another – laced with expletives – referenced damaging her “grandmother’s grave if she’s not dead by tomorrow” and “candles and a coffin for your entire family”.

A third said: “Go to hell, I lost money my mother sent me.”

The British number two’s response, as she reads through them 10 days later, is a mix of despair, resignation and fear.

Boulter’s reasoning for sharing the messages is two-fold.

The first, she says, is abusive content like this has become “the norm”. Boulter, 28, also has fears about the impact it can have on younger players.

“At the very start of my career, it’s probably something I took very personally… getting comments about the way you look,” she says.

“It becomes more apparent every single time you go on your phone.

“I think it increases in number and it also increases in the level of things that people say. I don’t think there’s anything off the cards now.”

The message threatening her loved ones was sent during her French Open first-round match against Carole Monnet on 29 May.

After losing the first-set tie-break, Boulter rallied to win 6-7 (4-7) 6-1 6-1 – her first victory in the main draw at Roland Garros.

As she reflects on the messages she receives, she says it is hard to differentiate between those that constitute a genuine risk and those that do not.

“I think it just kind of shows how vulnerable we are,” Boulter says. “You really don’t know if this person is on site. You really don’t know if they’re nearby or if they know where you live or anything like that.”

Looking again at the message hoping she gets cancer, she shakes her head.

“I just wonder who the person is that has sent that,” she says.

Boulter believes a lot of the abuse she is sent is from people who have placed bets on her matches, given it comes after victories as well as defeats.

She says she has become better at moving on from it, or simply not looking at her direct messages, but the impact is clear.

“As far as death threats, it’s just not something you want to be reading straight after an emotional loss,” she says.

“A lot of the time you get it after you win as well.”

Statistics shared exclusively with BBC Sport demonstrate the level of abuse aimed at players through social media, and what is being done to try to address it.

The figures – provided by data science firm Signify, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) – show that in 2024, about 8,000 abusive, violent or threatening messages were sent publicly to 458 tennis players through their social media accounts.

A significant proportion of abuse stems from betting, according to Signify, which has been working with tennis authorities on detecting abuse through an artificial intelligence-led detection system called Threat Matrix.

More than a quarter of all abuse (26%) was targeted at five players.

The most prolific account sent 263 abusive messages, and 15 accounts were escalated to law enforcement.

Nine of the 10 most prolific accounts – the majority of which were related to angry gamblers – were either suspended or had content removed.

Details of 39 account holders were shared with the tennis authorities and betting industry for further action.

Across the year, angry gamblers sent 40% of all detected abuse, with messages clearly related to betting activity because of the timing or content of the abuse.

Asked for a response, a Betting and Gaming Council spokesperson said its members “do not tolerate abuse on social media, which has no place in betting or sport”.

It added: “It is vital social media companies take swift action against users, and remove offensive content.”

Boulter, who is ranked 39th in the world, says explicit images are another problem for players.

“I’ve had quite a few of those sorts of things,” says Boulter, though she did acknowledge she thought “a lot of things” were filtered out through Instagram.

“I have noticed that more in my hidden messages or requests, which is a place I don’t go to very often.

“That’s also a larger problem. Youngsters really shouldn’t be seeing things like that or being sent things like that.”

Boulter says she has occasionally engaged with those who have sent her abuse, in an effort to get them to think about what they have said.

She says: “I’ve just tried to send them a nice message [so] maybe they can take a second and look at themselves and go: ‘Oh, well maybe I shouldn’t have sent that.’

“Sometimes the replies I actually get from that is them saying: ‘Oh no, I’m a huge fan. I’m so sorry. I didn’t want to send you that stuff, but it was emotional, I didn’t mean to. You know, I still support you. I think you’re amazing.’

“They don’t realise sometimes what they’ve actually said to these people.”

Boulter is preparing for the level of abuse to increase when she plays at her home Grand Slam.

“Wimbledon for me would probably be pretty astronomical,” she explains, adding she also receives abuse based on the performances of her fiance – Australian world number 12 Alex de Minaur.

“As a couple, we actually both get a little bit from each other as well, so he tends to get some of my matches if I’ve lost, and if he’s lost then sometimes I get his and likewise sometimes when he’s won.

Caroline Garcia, then the world number 30, spoke last year about the level of abuse players are subjected to.

The Frenchwoman pleaded for online trolls to remember players “are human”.

And she suggested tournaments partnering with betting companies added to the problems.

Five-time major champion Iga Swiatek and US Open finalist Jessica Pegula were among those who supported Garcia’s message.

Pegula described “constant death threats” and “family threats” as being “normal now”.

The American has joined others in the sport calling for the gambling industry to help tackle prolific and threatening message connected to betting.

“Online abuse is unacceptable, and something that no player should have to endure,” she said.

“It’s time for the gambling industry and social media companies to tackle the problem at its source and act to protect everyone facing these threats.”

In May 2023, American Taylor Townsend shared a screenshot of the death threat and racist abuse she received in an email after losing a match.

Sloane Stephens and Jay Clarke had previously revealed the level of racist abuse they were subjected to on social media.

Threat Matrix was first used by tennis authorities in January 2024 after collaboration between the ITF, WTA, All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) and United States Tennis Association (USTA). It has been used in other sports over the past five years.

It covers WTA and ITF players throughout the year, with all competitors offered the service during Wimbledon and the US Open.

Players can also share abuse received through direct messages, and are offered security advice.

Sally Bolton – chief executive of AELTC – told BBC Sport social media has made existing levels of abuse “significantly worse”.

“We try very hard to protect the players when they’re on site and digitally we are investing in helping to support them to not have that abuse happen,” she said.

“It’s disappointing that athletes aren’t able to go about what they do without receiving that abuse, but unfortunately it is a reality, and betting on sport now I’m afraid is also a reality, so we have to think about how we can mitigate some of that threat and risk.”

The WTA and ITF told us protecting players from online abuse was “a key priority”.

“From law enforcement escalation and platform intervention to banning abusers from our events, perpetrators must understand that they will face consequences for their actions,” they said in a statement.

The WTA and ITF also defended the partnerships in place which share data with third-party organisations – including betting companies – insisting it increases regulation and generates income for projects such as Threat Matrix.

“Betting on sport is inevitable, so it is crucial that the data used for that purpose comes from one official source. This is why we have rigorously vetted partnerships with official data suppliers – without them, betting on tennis could take place in unregulated markets, based on unofficial data, for which there is no oversight and little or no deterrent to corruptors.”

Jonathan Hirshler – CEO of Signify Group – highlighted how a “significant proportion” of abuse comes from a “relatively small” number of accounts.

Scrum-half Tomos Williams hopes he and Jac Morgan can do Wales proud when they play for the British and Irish Lions.

Gloucester’s Williams and Ospreys flanker Morgan are the only two Wales players in Andy Farrell’s 38-man squad, which will face Argentina on Friday night in Dublin before the nine-match tour of Australia.

It is Wales’ lowest contingent for almost 100 years after a record run of 17 international defeats and back-to-back Six Nations wooden spoons.

“I try not to put too much pressure on myself, but it is just me and Jac [from Wales],” said Williams.

“I don’t want to speak for him but we are so hugely proud.

Williams says he hopes to follow in the Lions footsteps of outstanding Wales scrum-halves Sir Gareth Edwards, Brynmor Williams, Terry Holmes, Robert Jones, Rob Howley, Dwayne Peel, Mike Phillips and Gareth Davies.

Williams was named Gallagher Premiership Player of the Season after a standout debut campaign with Gloucester.

The 30-year-old joined the west country club from Cardiff in 2024 and helped them to a fifth-placed finish in the Premiership, narrowly missing out on the play-offs by two points.

“Being in Wales was pretty tough, especially over the last couple of years playing internationally,” said Williams.

“I think the move to Gloucester helped me a lot and given me a break from the international rugby as well and it is nice to go back there.

“The way we played suited me and I have got a lot to thank Gloucester for.”

Williams has been impressed by the approach of Lions head coach Farrell.

“I think he has such an aura around the place,” said Williams.

“Everybody turns their heads when he speaks.

“The level of detail and clarity he gives you is class.”

Following a warm weather training week in Portugal where he shared a room with England fly-half Fin Smith, Williams is in line to be involved in the warm-up fixture against Argentina at the Aviva Stadium on Friday, 20 June (20:00 BST).

“It is about trying to put what we worked out in the week,” said Williams.

“It has been a pretty short period to get things going. Hopefully we can see how we have trained and put it into practice on the pitch and that will be half the battle.