After a reaggravated right calf injury hampered him into a playoff performance well short of his standards, Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton pumped the brakes on his own.
Sitting is out of the question. He’ll continue to play if he can walk.
“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.”
While finishing with just four points and without a field goal for the first time in his postseason career wasn’t exactly beneficial, Haliburton still gutted through 34 minutes Monday, contributing seven rebounds, six assists and four points.
Indiana nearly erased another sizable deficit against the Oklahoma City Thunder, but falling short means the Pacers now trail these Finals 3-2. Oklahoma City can sew up the series Thursday in Indianapolis. That path clears with Haliburton hobbled.
History shows that teams that take a Finals Game 5 after a 2-2 tie win 74% of the series. In 49 previous cases, teams with a 3-2 Finals lead have claimed the title 40 times.
Another pesky stat from the Pacers’ perspective: Each of their seven losses in these playoffs came when Haliburton scored 20 points or fewer.
Then again, the Pacers can just as easily tout their six postseason victories when Haliburton failed to surpass 20 points.
“We can continue to count on him to keep fighting. I admire that from him, just because I know that it’s hard,” Indiana’s Pascal Siakam said. “We’ve got a couple of days. Take care of our bodies, rest well and be ready for Game 6.”
At the outset, it didn’t feel like the Pacers were wholly prepared for Game 5 as the Thunder set an early tone. Indiana trailed by double digits in the first half before trimming what once was an 18-point deficit to two with 8:30 remaining in the game.
Big rallies have been Indiana’s M.O. throughout the postseason, but this one wasn’t sustainable — not with the Thunder’s Jalen Williams enjoying a career night on the other side.
Williams responded with a 3-pointer that catapulted Oklahoma City to score 18 of the game’s next 24 points. He finished with 40 points, tops on his postseason ledger, on 14-for-25 shooting that featured a 3-for-5 effort from long range.
“He was really gutsy tonight,” said teammate and NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who added 31 points. “He stepped into big plays. Felt like every time we needed a shot, he made it. He wasn’t afraid. He was fearless tonight.”
As with Haliburton, these mark Williams’ first Finals, too. The 24-year-old became the third-youngest player to reach the 40-point plateau on that stage, joining Magic Johnson and Russell Westbrook.
Being part of that kind of company means something, to be sure, but Williams is putting any reflection on hold.
“It’s something more that I’ll look back on later than worry about what kind of statement it makes,” he said. “I think the only statement we have right now is we’re up 3-2 and we still have to go earn another win.”
Indiana, of course, needs twice that many.
Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said “there’s a lot of guys in the series that aren’t” at full strength. Haliburton knows he’s in that number.
As Indiana faces its first series deficit of the playoffs, the time to channel the resilience that steered the team back in multiple games is now.
Or never.
“It’s kind of poetic that we’re here,” Haliburton said.
