Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton limited by sore calf in Game 5 loss
OKLAHOMA CITY — Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton insisted on playing through a sore right calf in the second half of Indiana’s 120-109 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 5 of the NBA Finals, despite concerns at halftime after he aggravated the injury during the first quarter Monday night.
Haliburton went to the locker room early in the game before returning in the second quarter with his calf wrapped. He finished the game, but his production was limited — he scored four points, matching the lowest scoring total of his playoff career, and finished without a field goal for the first time in his playoff career, going 0-of-6 from the field.
“It’s the Finals,” Haliburton said. “I’ve worked my whole life to be here and I want to be out there to compete, help my teammates any way I can.
“I was not great tonight by any means, but it’s not really a thought of mine to not play here. If I can walk, then I want to play.”
Haliburton limped off after his postgame news conference following Game 2, with what was later revealed to be a right ankle injury. On Monday he acknowledged this injury was in the “same area.”
Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said it was clear Haliburton was not 100% but did not expect him to miss any games — especially with Indiana’s season on the line following Monday’s defeat.
The Pacers now trail 3-2 in the series; Game 6 is Thursday in Indianapolis.
“[Haliburton’s] not a hundred percent,” Carlisle said. “There’s a lot of guys in the series that aren’t.
“This is a lifetime opportunity. Not many guys are going to sit, even if they are a little banged up. If you’re injured, that’s a different story. But we’ll evaluate everything with Tyrese and see how he wakes up tomorrow.”
Haliburton had six total drives in Game 5, according to tracking by GeniusIQ, his fewest in a game this postseason and tied for the second fewest in a playoff game in his career.
But he still did his best to make an impact, adding six assists and seven rebounds in 34 minutes.
“Just trying to keep pace in the game, impact whatever way I can,” Haliburton said. “Try to get the ball to guys in the right spots if I can.”
Still, it will be hard for the Pacers to pull off an upset over the Thunder if Haliburton is limited. They are 6-7 this postseason when Haliburton scores 20 or fewer points (8-0 when he scores more than 20).
“He’s a fighter,” said Pacers forward Pascal Siakam, who led the team with 28 points. “He’s been our rock all year. He’s a big reason why we’re here. I don’t know exactly what’s wrong, but I know he’s fighting and he’s going to give us everything he’s got.
“One thing he showed, his resiliency. He showed that all year. We can continue to count on him to keep fighting. I admire that from him, just because I know that it’s hard. We’ve got a couple of days. Take care of our bodies, rest well and be ready for Game 6.”
Even with Haliburton limited Monday night, the Pacers rallied from a double-digit first-half deficit to cut the lead to 95-93 with 8:30 remaining in the fourth quarter. However, the Thunder went on a 25-16 run to end the game.
Indiana finished with 22 turnovers, which led to 32 points for Oklahoma City.
“We feel like we did a good job in the second half of putting pace in the game, and really getting out and running,” Haliburton said. “We thought we did a better job of that in the second half, but we have to really cut down on the turnovers. The turnovers are really killing us right now, especially the first half. We know we can be better there.”
Monday’s loss was the first time all postseason the Pacers have dropped back-to-back games, ending a streak dating back to March. Resiliency is something Indiana has prided itself on throughout this playoff run.
Haliburton said the Pacers are going to have to tap into that again to keep their season alive.
“We’ve had our backs against the wall many different times over the last two years and had to find different ways to win,” he said. “The way that this year has gone, nobody said this was going to be sweet.
“It’s kind of poetic that we’re here. We’ve got to be ready to go for Game 6. Our backs are against the wall. It’s a really tough team. … Everybody has to be prepared. It starts with me, and we’ve all got to be better. That’s just point-blank, period.”
Source: espn.com