Tyrese Haliburton ready for 'backs against wall' NBA Finals test

Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton drives to the basket past Oklahoma City Thunder forward Chet Holmgren. PHOTO: REUTERS

UPDATED Jun 17, 2025, 01:42 PM

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OKLAHOMA CITY – Tyrese Haliburton vowed to be ready for Indiana’s must-win NBA Finals Game 6 after being hobbled by injury during the Pacers’ 120-109 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on June 16.

The Pacers talisman, who suffered a right leg injury in Game 2, once again struggled as Indiana slipped to a defeat that leaves the Thunder one win away from clinching the best-of-seven series.

Being 3-2 up, Oklahoma City can seal the NBA crown with victory in Game 6 in Indianapolis on June 19.

Haliburton discussed sitting out the remainder of the game with head coach Rick Carlisle at half-time but eventually returned after the break.

“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,” he said.

“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. It is what it is. Got to be ready to go for Game 6.”

Haliburton missed all six of his field-goal attempts while ending up with four points, seven rebounds and six assists in 34 minutes.

ESPN reported at half-time that Haliburton was playing with calf tightness in his right leg.

After the Pacers lost, Carlisle said of Haliburton: “He’s not 100 per cent. 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. I thought he made a lot of really good things happen in the second half. But he’s not 100 per cent. There’s a lot of guys in this series that aren’t.”

Haliburton added that the Pacers would only be thinking about winning Game 6 and nothing else.

“The thought is if you lose, the season is over. So our backs are against the wall,” he said.

“We’ve got to take this a day at a time. Our backs are against the wall. You have to look at Game 6 like it’s a Game 7. We’ve got to go in and take care of business, just approach the game the right way.”

Pacers teammate Pascal Siakam backed Haliburton to fight through the pain barrier.

“He’s a fighter. He’s been our rock all year,” he said of Haliburton.

“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. We are a 100 per cent behind him.”

Haliburton was averaging 17.8 points, 7.5 assists and six rebounds in the Finals prior to June 16. He delivered the dagger jump shot to sink the Thunder on their home court in Game 1 as the Pacers narrowly won 111-110.

In Game 5, Jalen Williams erupted for 40 points, six rebounds and four assists for the Thunder while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander co-starred with 31 points and 10 assists, four blocks and two steals.

“My teammates instill 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.”

Williams said Oklahoma City’s experience in Game 1 – when they blew a 15-point fourth-quarter lead to lose – had helped them close out victory.

“Tonight was the exact same game as Game 1, to be honest,” he said. “Learning through these Finals is what makes this team good and we were able to do that.” REUTERS, AFP

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