Tyrese Haliburton performed by way of a sore proper calf through the second half of the Indiana Pacers’ 120-109 loss to the Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder in Recreation 5 on Monday evening.
Haliburton, who completed with 4 factors on 0-for-6 taking pictures from the sphere, went to the locker room early within the sport.
Haliburton returned within the second quarter with the calf wrapped and performed within the second half regardless of considerations that he reaggravated the damage.
“It is the Finals,” Haliburton mentioned. “I’ve labored my entire life to be right here and I need to be on the market to compete, assist my teammates any manner I can.
“I used to be not nice tonight by any means, however it’s probably not a considered mine to not play right here. If I can stroll, then I need to play.”
Haliburton suffered a proper ankle damage in Recreation 2 and acknowledged that the present damage was in the identical space.
With the Pacers down 3-2 within the collection, Rick Carlisle mentioned after the Recreation 5 loss that he didn’t anticipate Haliburton to overlook any time.
“[Haliburton’s] not 100%,” Carlisle mentioned. “There’s plenty of guys within the collection that are not.
“This can be a lifetime alternative. Not many guys are going to take a seat, even when they’re just a little banged up. When you’re injured, that is a unique story. However we’ll consider every little thing with Tyrese and see how he wakes up tomorrow.”
Haliburton completed with six assists and 7 rebounds, although his six whole drives in Recreation 5 have been his fewest in a sport this postseason.
Haliburton added that the Pacers must proceed discovering methods to win forward of Thursday’s Recreation 6.
“We have had our backs in opposition to the wall many various instances over the past two years and needed to discover other ways to win,” he mentioned. “The way in which that this 12 months has gone, no person mentioned this was going to be candy.”
