Indiana Pacers star point guard Tyrese Haliburton will play in Game 6 of the NBA Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said Haliburton, a game-time decision entering Thursday, won’t be on a minutes restriction in the win-or-go-home showdown with the Thunder, who currently lead the series 3-2.
Haliburton suffered a right calf injury during the team’s 120-109 loss in Game 5 on Monday.
He finished with just four points after shooting 0-for-6 from the field in what was the worst game of his otherwise memorable, and mostly clutch, playoff run.
Haliburton wore a gray sock/compression sleeve on his lower right leg while getting shots up Thursday evening, just a few hours before the 8:30 p.m tipoff.
“The Pacers have a walkthrough this afternoon, so approximately around 5 p.m. ET they’re hopeful to know definitively whether Tyrese Haliburton should be able to play or not,” ESPN’s Shams Charania said on “The Pat McAfee Show” earlier Thursday.
Charania continued while on with McAfee: “Unless there’s some kind of a setback there — if he shows some signs where the medical team has to come in and step in and say, ‘Listen, we can’t throw you out there.’ But he’s fully intending to be out there tonight. He’s going to gut it out. I would expect him to have some padding on that calf. But, listen, it’s a calf strain. He’s definitely got to be careful. But as long as he can get out there, I would expect Tyrese Haliburton to try to play tonight.”
Haliburton played through the injury in Game 5 and made it clear postgame that he’d turn over every stone to be on the court in Indianapolis Thursday night, with the Pacers’ season and NBA championship hopes on the line.
“If I can walk, then I want to play,” he told reporters at the time.
Haliburton doubled down on that statement Wednesday.
“I have to understand the risks, ask the right questions. But I’m a competitor,” he said. “I want to play. I’m going to do everything in my power to play.”
Haliburton has averaged 17.9 points, 9.1 assists, 5.8 rebounds and 1.3 steals in the playoffs this season. His impact, however, is even greater than his numbers suggest.
In addition to orchestrating the Pacers’ run-and-gun offense, he’s hit an array of jaw-dropping shots this postseason, including a game-winner to start the NBA Finals.
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