Tyrese Haliburton Had Simple Reasoning for Why He Tried to Play Through Injury

The Oklahoma City Thunder took care of business against the Indiana Pacers in Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Monday night, scoring a 120–109 win and with it a 3–2 lead in the series.

The Pacers struggled throughout the night, with Tyrese Haliburton, who had been at the center of so many of the team’s epic comebacks this postseason, having an especially brutal game. Haliburton was held scoreless in the first half—his first scoreless first half in his postseason career—and ultimately finished the game with just four points, all of which came from the foul line.

Haliburton was clearly still working through his leg injury, as Pacers coach Rick Carlisle made clear after the game. But despite the injury, Haliburton was adamant that he was not going to be taken off the floor for the Pacers. Asked why he tried to play through his injury after the game, Haliburton’s answer was short and simple.

“I mean it’s the NBA Finals. 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 was not really a thought to not play here. If I can walk then I want to play. They understand that. It is what it is, and I’ve got to be ready to go in Game 6.”

Haliburton has undoubtedly earned the right to be out on the floor in crunch time for the Pacers, even if he’s not at 100%. That said, he had absolutely nothing going on Monday night, and given the way backup guard T.J. McConnell—who had 18 points in 22 minutes, including 13 points in the third quarter alone—was playing, some were left wondering if McConnell would have been a better bet down the stretch.

Given the way that Carlisle talked about Haliburton’s injury, it sounds like the nagging injury isn’t going to be gone before Game 6 tips off on Thursday. Haliburton will be out there no matter what, but how effective he can be as a player remains an open question.