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Tyrese Haliburton struggled in Game 5, missing all six field-goal attempts and scoring only four points as the Pacers lost 120-109 to the Thunder.
Tyrese Haliburton of the Indiana Pacers (AP)
Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton, despite battling a right calf injury, experienced a tough night in Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Monday, adding insult to injury.
Haliburton missed all six of his field-goal attempts, finishing with four points, seven rebounds, and six assists in 34 minutes as the Pacers fell 120-109 to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
With his unfortunate night, Haliburton also wrote his name into the history books for all the wrong reasons, becoming the first All-NBA player since 1958 to miss every shot in an NBA Finals game.
Despite his struggles, Haliburton has no intention of missing Game 6 of the NBA Finals on Thursday in Indianapolis, where the Pacers will aim to even the best-of-seven series.
“It’s the Finals,” said Haliburton after Game 5. “I’ve worked my whole life to be here, and I want to be out there to compete and help my teammates any way I can.”
To his credit, Haliburton pushed through 34 minutes, mainly serving as a facilitating decoy in the second half and rarely looking to shoot.
He scored four points, all from the free-throw line, and the Pacers lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder 120-109 on Monday night, falling behind 3-2 in the series.
“If I can walk, then I want to play,” Haliburton said.
Haliburton was scoreless at halftime for the first time in 36 career playoff games, scoring his first points on a pair of free throws with 7:07 left in the third quarter.
Now, the Pacers face an even tougher challenge in their quest for an NBA title. They’re down in the series, and their key player is injured.
Indiana coach Rick Carlisle commented on Haliburton’s condition, “He’s not 100 percent. It’s pretty clear. But I don’t think he’s going to miss the next game.
“We were concerned at halftime. He insisted on playing. I thought he made a lot of really good things happen in the second half. But he’s not 100 percent. There’s a lot of guys in this series that aren’t.”
Prior to Monday, Haliburton was averaging 17.8 points, 7.5 assists, and six rebounds in the Finals. He made the game-winning jump shot in Game 1 as the Pacers won 111-110.
The injury has been a recurring issue throughout the series. Haliburton was visibly limping after Game 2 and mentioned before Game 3 that there wasn’t much to discuss, calling it “just a lower leg thing.”
Looking ahead to Thursday, Haliburton said, “Everybody has to be prepared. It starts with me, and we’ve all got to be better. That’s just point blank, period.”
(with agency inputs)
After training in the field of broadcast media, Siddarth, as a sub-editor for News18 Sports, currently dabbles in putting together stories, from across a plethora of sports, onto a digital canvas. His long-term…Read More
After training in the field of broadcast media, Siddarth, as a sub-editor for News18 Sports, currently dabbles in putting together stories, from across a plethora of sports, onto a digital canvas. His long-term… Read More
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