NBA Finals: Pacers' Haliburton plans to play through injury in Game 6
Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (R) shoots against Oklahoma City Thunder guard Aaron Wiggins during the first half of Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Monday at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City. Photo by Maneula Soldi/EPA-EFE
June 17 (UPI) -- All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton was slowed by a calf injury and failed to make a field goal in Game 5 of the NBA Finals, but plans to play through the issue in Game 6 as the Indiana Pacers try to avoid elimination.
The Pacers star provided an update on the injury early Tuesday morning after the 120-109 setback to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday in Oklahoma City. Haliburton went 0 for 6 from the field -- failing to make a field goal in a playoff game for the first time in his career.
Pacers coach Rick Carlisle that Haliburton insisted he could continue to play when the two spoke at halftime.
"I mean, it's the NBA Finals," Haliburton said at his postgame news conference. "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 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. They understand that. And it is what it is.
"Got to be ready to go for Game 6."
Haliburton appeared to aggravate his right calf in the first quarter and returned in the second with a wrap over the area. He sustained an ankle injury in the same leg earlier in the series. His 34:09 of action were his fewest minutes of the series.
Haliburton averaged 17.8 points, 7.5 assists and 6.0 rebounds per game through the first four games of the NBA Finals. He made an average of 7.3 field goals, including 2.5 3-pointers, per appearance to start the series.
He went 0 for 5, including 0 for 4 from 3-point range, and failed to score through the first half of Monday's loss. Haliburton scored his first points with two free throws 4:53 into the second half.
"He's not a 100%," Carlisle said. "It's pretty clear. But I don't think he's going to miss the next game. We were concerned at halftime, and he insisted on playing. I thought he made a lot of really good things happen in the second half.
"But he's not a 100%. There's a lot of guys in the series that aren't."
The Pacers (2-3) will host the Thunder (3-2) in Game 6 of the best-of-seven game series at 8:30 p.m. EDT Thursday in Indianapolis.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NBC Sports
23 minutes ago
- NBC Sports
Thunder played 'how they wanted' in Game 5 win
The Dan Le Batard Show weighs in on the Oklahoma City Thunder's Game 5 victory over the Indiana Pacers, discussing how the Thunder finally looked like themselves in the series.
USA Today
28 minutes ago
- USA Today
The Nuggets still have no GM just 8 days before NBA Draft
The Nuggets still have no GM just 8 days before NBA Draft The NBA Draft is in nine days, the Nuggets do not have a POBO, GM or AGM. — Jake Shapiro (@Shapalicious) June 17, 2025 At the time of this writing, the Denver Nuggets do not have a general manager. They do not have a president of basketball operations. Heck, after Monday night's news about them parting with long-time executive Tommy Balcetis, they don't have an assistant general manager, either. And guess what? We're only eight days from the 2025 NBA Draft. This is critical even for the draft-pick-less Nuggets, because the draft is traditionally one of the biggest transactional periods in the NBA's calendar. If the Nuggets have anyone competent running the show right now, anyone at all, while Nikola Jokić twists in the wind hoping (praying?) for more depth, they're doing a terrible job of showing it. This is not how I believe anyone rational would characterize taking care of the prime of one of the best players in basketball history. Not at all: In the interest of giving Denver the benefit of the doubt, there could be a reasonable explanation for this bizarre delay. Perhaps the Nuggets are ironing out the finer details with former Golden State Warriors architect Bob Myers, who is currently working the NBA Finals as an analyst for ESPN. That would at least partly explain why they parted ways with Balcetis, as a big fish like Myers would probably want his own preferred front office structure. Maybe they're busy working on a reunion with former team president Tim Connelly, who famously had a passive-aggressive falling out with the Kroenke family before jumping ship to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Someone like the respected Matt Lloyd, who is Connelly's general manager/lieutenant in Minnesota, might also be in the picture. Any of these moves would qualify as taking a much-needed big swing for Denver that likely needs time to orchestrate and finalize. They would justify the wait, as painful as it seems right now. Of course, if we're being less charitable, the Nuggets could just be biding their time before officially promoting interim general manager Ben Tenzer. They could literally be running it back all around with no outside eyes offering a new perspective anywhere. That, in itself, would be a massive, shortsighted disaster centered around wasted time and insular viewpoints. No one knows what team owner Stan Kroenke and vice chairman Josh Kroenke are cooking behind the scenes. The more time goes on, the more it seems like there's nothing meaningful happening at all.
Yahoo
33 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Indiana Pacers: How to watch Game 6 of the 2025 NBA Finals
If you buy something through a link in this article, we may earn commission. Pricing and availability are subject to change. The Oklahoma City Thunder are facing the Indiana Pacers in the 2025 NBA Finals. The odds heavily favored the Thunder over the Pacers headed into this series, which is no surprise considering the Thunder were 68-14 in the regular season and the No. 1 overall seed in the Western Conference. However, the fourth-seeded Indiana Pacers managed to hold their own, and were tied in the series up until Monday night, when OKC defeated Indiana 120-109. The Thunder now lead the series 3-2. Game 6 tips off in Indiana this Thursday, June 19, at 8:30 p.m. on ABC. Here's everything you need to know about how to watch the Pacers vs. Thunder NBA Finals. How to watch the Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Indiana Pacers Game 6: Date: Thursday, June 19 Advertisement Time: 8:30 p.m. ET TV channel: ABC Streaming: DirecTV, Fubo, Hulu + Live TV and more NBA Finals channel: All games in the NBA Finals will air on ABC — sweet and simple! How to watch the NBA Finals without cable: Watch the NBA Finals on local ABC DirecTV MySports Pack DirecTV's MySports pack is a curated live TV package geared toward sports fans, with access to local ABC, plus ESPN's suite of channels, TBS, TNT, USA, FS1 and an included subscription to ESPN+ for $69.99/month. The MySports pack guarantees access to thousands of live televised events, plus all the live-streaming and library content on ESPN+, all on one interface and one bill. You can try it for free for five days before committing. Try free at DirecTV Who is playing in the NBA Finals? The Oklahoma City Thunder will face the Indiana Pacers in the 2025 NBA Finals. 2025 NBA Finals TV schedule: All times Eastern. Thursday, June 19 Game 6 - Oklahoma City at Indiana: 8:30 p.m. (ABC) Sunday, June 22 Game 7 - Indiana at Oklahoma City, if necessary: 8 p.m. (ABC) *if necessary More ways to watch the NBA Finals:
