Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton has been repeatedly beat up this postseason, and on Monday that wear and tear may have caught up with him.
Haliburton endured a poor first half against the Oklahoma City Thunder, who took a 59–45 lead into the break during Game 5 of the NBA Finals. He took five shots and missed them all, including four from three-point range—making it the first scoreless first half of his postseason career.
The guard's performance came as ESPN's Shams Charania reported at halftime that Haliburton was dealing with calf soreness—compounding the lower-leg soreness he endured earlier in the series.
Game 5 is the first time Tyrese Haliburton has been held scoreless in the first half in his playoff career 😱 pic.twitter.com/kGXnVUSTJA
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) June 17, 2025
Haliburton is playing his 94th game of 2025 between the regular and postseasons, a demanding load for any player.
If there's any silver lining for Pacers fans, it's that he did add a rebound and two assists in 17 minutes of play. Still, Indiana will need one final push from the face of the franchise to steal two more wins and a title.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Tyrese Haliburton Posts First Scoreless First Half of Playoff Career to Begin Game 5.