BREAKING: Indiana Pacers Star Tyrese Haliburton Explains Reason For Historically Awful NBA Finals Performance

Indiana Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton is battling an injury that has led to one of the worst stat lines in NBA Finals history. On Monday night, Haliburton only had four points and zero field goals in the Pacers’ game five loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Immediately after the game, ESPN’s Shams Charania revealed that Haliburton was dealing with “right calf tightness” but decided to play through it.

During his postgame press conference, Haliburton discussed the decision to play despite being injured.

“I mean, it’s the NBA Finals,” he told reporters after the loss. “It’s the Finals—I’ve worked my whole life to be here. It was not really a thought of mine to not play here. If I can walk, then I want to play.”

Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle says he’s concerned about Haliburton’s injury but doesn’t think he’ll sit out for a do-or-die game six.

"He's not 100%. It's pretty clear. But I don't think he's gonna miss the next game. We were concerned at halftime and he insisted on playing."

Rick Carlisle with an update on Tyrese Haliburton's injury following Game 5 🗣️

(via @NBATV)pic.twitter.com/j49wKH30ON

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) June 17, 2025

The Pacers hope to force a game 7 with a win at home on Thursday.