Right calf strain could hobble ‘Hali’
Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton is believed to have strained his right calf during a Game 5 loss to Oklahoma City and will undergo an MRI, ESPN reported on Tuesday afternoon.
The Pacers are facing elimination down 3-2 to the Thunder in the best-of-seven NBA Finals, with Game 6 on Thursday in Indianapolis.
Haliburton appeared to aggravate the injury in the first quarter but played through it on Monday night, when host Oklahoma City won 120-109. He missed all six of his field-goal attempts while ending up with four points, seven rebounds and six assists in 34 minutes.
“It’s the Finals,” the point guard said after Game 5. “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’s not really a thought of mine to not play here. If I can walk, then I want to play.”
Indiana coach Rick Carlisle said of Haliburton, “He’s not 100 percent. It’s pretty clear. But I don’t think he’s going to miss the next game.
“We were concerned at halftime. He insisted on playing. I thought he made a lot of really good things happen in the second half. But he’s not 100 percent. There’s a lot of guys in this series that aren’t.”
Haliburton is averaging 17.9 points, 9.1 assists, 5.8 rebounds and 1.3 steals in 21 postseason games. He averaged 18.6 points, 9.2 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.4 steals in 73 regular-season games.
