Tyrese Haliburton Drops Funny Line About 'Love Island' After Rallying for Game 6 Win

Going into Game 6 of the NBA Finals on Thursday night, the prevailing belief was that the Indiana Pacers were cooked. Down one game in the series as superstar clutch-god Tyrese Haliburton nursed a calf strain, it just seemed unlikely that the Oklahoma City Thunder—who entered the postseason as the No. 1 seed in the West and with the best record in the league—wouldn't finish the job. But these are the Pacers. And we all should have known better.

Despite the odds stacked against them and an ailing Hali, Indiana yet again rallied for a decisive 108-91 win at home, forcing a Game 7 in the NBA Finals for the first time since 2016. In the end, Obi Toppin dropped the team-leading 20 points, though Andrew Nembhard (17), Pascal Siakam (16), T.J. McConnell (12) and even Haliburton (14) shone in the box score, as well.

That the star guard managed to play for 23 points and get up 14 points shocked probably everyone, considering the circumstances, but it sounds like it was in large part due to Hali's commitment to managing his injury between contests.

When discussing as much after the game, the Iowa State export had a funny line about how his girlfriend made sure he was nursing his injury when trainers and coaches weren't around—so much so that he had to tend to his calf before she'd put on Love Island.

"My family, my girl Jade, staying on me to keep doing the treatment when the people aren't there, you know," the guard told Scott Van Pelt on Thursday, asked how he prepared for the crucial contest. "She wants to watch Love Island right now, but she's like, 'Yo, but before we put it on, we gotta put something on the calf."

Watch that full moment below starting at 5:00:

Haliburton now joins a growing group of athletes admitting to watching this season of Love Island, now in its seventh iteration in the U.S. On Tuesday, New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson inadvertently alarmed fans with a confusing social media post, only to later clarify he was talking about the reality dating show. Then, on Wednesday, New York Giants quarterback Tommy DeVito said that he and rookie Jaxson Dart sometimes watch the program together, too.

Hali and Jade will have a chance to catch up on the episodes they missed—and manage the guard's injury, of course—between now and Sunday night, when the Pacers become the bombshells entering OKC's villa at 8 p.m. ET.