How quickly narratives can change.

Heading into Game 6 of the NBA Finals Thursday night, the narrative was Indiana Pacers star guard Tyrese Haliburton's health—surrounding his team's chances to force a series-deciding Game 7 with plenty of doom and gloom. Then, the Pacers handily took down the Oklahoma City Thunder 108–91 and Haliburton dropped 14 points and made three three-pointers in the big win, which shifted the momentum to Indiana's side.

Now, with Game 7 set for Sunday in Oklahoma City, Haliburton knows plenty of the widespread conversation will favor his team—recency bias at its finest. After the Game 6 win Thursday, he acknowledged that point and spewed a level-headed take on how his team has to stay away from that nonsense.

"For the next two days, everybody's going to be talking about how good we looked, how well we played, how much pressure is on OKC," he said postgame on SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt. "You know, that's going to be the narrative. We got to do a good job of staying away from that stuff. I think that can be poison."

Haliburton says the rest of the team does a good job of staying away from that "poison," but that's certainly easier said than done with the stakes at hand.

We'll see who can connect on the final blow of the 2025 NBA Finals as Game 7 is slated to tip off Sunday at 8 p.m. ET.

More NBA Finals on Sports Illustrated


This article was originally published on www.si.com as Tyrese Haliburton Warns Pacers to Stay Away From 'Poison' Narrative Ahead of Game 7.

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