Report: Tyrese Haliburton has left calf strain, to get MRI. He said he is playing in Game 6

OKLAHOMA CITY — Tyrese Haliburton was clearly slowed as he played through the aggravation of a calf issue during Game 5 of the NBA Finals Monday night — four points on 0-of-6 shooting, his first bucketless game of the playoffs.

Now comes a report that Haliburton has been diagnosed with a calf strain and will undergo an MRI, via Shams Charania of ESPN.

“Once the Pacers and Haliburton get the results back on this MRI, on that calf strain, they’re going to be able to identify the severity and then huddle and map out exactly what the plan will be going into Game 6,” Charania said on the network.

If this were the regular season, Haliburton likely would be out 7-10 days (the standard recovery time for a Grade 1 strain), partially to protect him from himself. Calf strains can become a much more severe injury if the muscle is not allowed to heal properly. However, Thursday night is Game 6 of the NBA Finals and Haliburton said he intends to play.

“It’s the Finals, man,” 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. I was not great tonight by any means, but it’s not really a thought of mine to not play [in Game 6]. If I can walk, then I want to play.”

“He’s a fighter. He’s been our rock all year,” Pascal Siakam said of Haliburton after Game 5. “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 hundred percent behind him and we support him.

“I think one thing he showed, his resiliency. He showed that all year. I think that we can continue to count on him to keep fighting. I admire that from him, just because I know that it’s hard. We’ve got a couple of days. Take care of our bodies, rest well and be ready for Game 6.”

The Pacers are going to need more from Haliburton in Game 6 to extend their season. Without him playing like an All-NBA guard, the Pacers’ offense is not the same threat, especially in the face of the swarming Oklahoma City defense. This has been a Finals relatively free of injury talk, both teams had been healthy, but that has changed.

Haliburton’s calf and how he plays will be the thing to watch in Game 6. Whatever the MRI finds.