INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Tyrese Haliburton jumped into the passing lane for a steal and tiptoed his way along the sideline before spinning and throwing a no-look pass to Pascal Siakam for a dunk over a pair of Oklahoma City defenders.
And then he stopped to slap a few hands of well-wishers in the crowd.
Not bad for a guy playing on one good leg.
Haliburton's Game 6 of the NBA Finals ended early — and that was a very good thing for the Indiana Pacers. Playing with a strained right calf, Haliburton had 14 points in just 23 minutes and the Pacers rolled past the Oklahoma City Thunder 108-91 on Thursday night to send the NBA Finals to Game 7.
“If I can walk, then I want to be out there,” Haliburton said.
Haliburton has been dealing with lower leg issues throughout the series and the calf strain flared up in Game 5 on Monday night. He played through it for the final three quarters of that loss to the Thunder, though he basically stopped looking to shoot in the second half.
He missed his first four shots on Thursday, too. And then, he somehow got back to normal. Jumping, cutting, shooting from 30 feet and twisting in the air at times, he looked nothing like the guy who left Game 5 limping so badly that it seemed like he was dragging his right leg behind him.
The fact that he played at all was a boost to the Pacers. Indiana coach Rick Carlisle said Haliburton went through a walkthrough Thursday afternoon along with strength testing, passing all necessary checks.
So, with the Pacers facing elimination in Game 6 and down 3-2 in the title series, Haliburton — who was on the court and did some shooting not long before Carlisle announced the decision — gave it a shot.
“He didn’t want a lot of attention. He was doing everything possible to be able to play,” Carlisle said. “Fortunately, we were able to keep his minutes reasonable because we had a great first half and a good start to the third quarter.”
That Haliburton played was no surprise to the Thunder.
“He’s a great player,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said before the game. “If there’s one thing we know, you don’t underestimate great players. In this situation, we’re expecting his best punch. Indiana is a great team. We’re expecting their best punch. I have no doubt he’s dealing with stuff, but we’re expecting him to come out and play like a great player would play."
Daigneault, to his dismay, couldn't have been more right.
Haliburton acknowledged Wednesday that, if this was the regular season, he likely wouldn’t be attempting to play through such an injury. He said he wanted to understand the risks, but indicated if there was any way to play he would do so.
“I knew he would," Pacers forward Pascal Siakam said.
Haliburton missed the last two games of last season’s playoff run because of a hamstring injury, unable to play in Games 3 and 4 of the Eastern Conference finals against the eventual champion Boston Celtics. The Pacers lost by three points in each of those two games without Haliburton, who went on to be part of the team that won a gold medal for the United States at the Paris Olympics later that year.
Among the many forms of treatment Haliburton has been partaking in since Monday night: hyperbaric treatments, needles, massage, electronic stimulation, even special tape. He’s been doing something virtually around the clock with hopes of being able to play.
“I have a lot of trust in our medical staff. I have a lot of trust in our organization to make the right decision,” Haliburton said Wednesday. “I think there’s been many situations through the course of my career where they’ve trusted me on my body. ... I want to be out there. That’s the plan.”
Good plan.
Haliburton has come up big for the Pacers in big moments several times in these playoffs.
His jumper with 0.3 seconds left in Game 1 of the finals immediately went into title-series lore and gave the Pacers a 111-110 win over the heavily favored Thunder.
Against Milwaukee on April 29, it was a layup with 1.4 seconds left that capped a rally from seven points down in the final 34.6 seconds of overtime for a 119-118 win. In Cleveland on May 6, it was a 3-pointer with 1.1 seconds left for a 120-119 win — capping a rally from seven points down in the final 48 seconds. At Madison Square Garden against the Knicks on May 21, a game the Pacers trailed 121-112 with 51.1 seconds left, he hit a jumper with no time left to force OT and Indiana won again.
He didn't need any late dramatics Thursday. And now, Game 7 awaits.
“We've got one game ... and it's all about that one game,” Haliburton said.
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