Tyrese Haliburton's right calf injury questions his status for Indiana for a must-win Game 6 at home.
Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton grabbed at his lower right leg after an awkward fall in the first quarter, briefly leaving Game 5 of the NBA Finals for treatment.
He kept playing. He clearly wasn’t right.
Per multiple reports, Haliburton is believed to have suffered a strained right calf and will undergo an MRI to determine the injury’s severity. During Wednesday’s media availability, Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said Haliburton’s status for Game 6 likely won’t be known until sometime Thursday.
“We’ll see where we are tomorrow,” Carlisle said. “It’s a topic that people want to hear about and know about, and there’s going to be a lot of questions about it. But we will not really know for sure until late tomorrow afternoon or early evening.”
Rick Carlisle on if Haliburton can go in Game 6:
"We will not really know for sure until late tomorrow afternoon or early evening." pic.twitter.com/rUlB0rl5Ax
— NBA TV (@NBATV) June 18, 2025
After Game 5, Carlisle did not specifically say that the MRI would be part of the team’s next moves in figuring out how best to proceed with Haliburton, though he made clear that the Eastern Conference champions would be taking a close look at the injury. An MRI is part of the typical evaluation process, given that Haliburton evidently has a muscular injury.
Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton is believed to have suffered a strained right calf and will undergo an MRI to determine the severity of the strain, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/4FTIoB1RVU
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 17, 2025
“We have to prepare for two scenarios — one where he plays and one where he does not,” Carlisle said in an interview with Indianapolis radio station 107.5 The Fan.
“He is going to be carefully evaluated over the next 36 hours and will likely be listed as questionable on the injury report and probably will be a game-time decision for Game 6.”
The Pacers lost in Oklahoma City in Game 5 to fall into a 3-2 deficit in the series on Monday night. Game 6 is in Indianapolis on Thursday night (8:30 ET, ABC).
To his credit, Haliburton gutted his way through 34 minutes, largely playing the role of a facilitating decoy in the second half while hardly ever looking to shoot. He finished with four points, all from the foul line, as the Pacers lost 120-109.
If Haliburton cannot play, it would seem likely that the Pacers would promote guard TJ McConnell to a starting role. McConnell has been brilliant throughout these playoffs and sparked a rally where Indiana closed an 18-point deficit to a two-point difference in the second half of Game 5, before Oklahoma City pulled away again and for good.
“I mean, it’s the NBA Finals. It’s the finals, man,” Haliburton 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. They understand that. And it is what it is. Got to be ready to go for Game 6.”
Haliburton was scoreless at halftime for the first time in 36 career playoff games. He scored his first points on a pair of free throws with 7:07 left in the third quarter. Haliburton finished with seven rebounds and six assists but shot 0-for-6 from the floor.
And now, the challenge of winning an NBA title gets even tougher for the Pacers. They’re down, and their quarterback is ailing.
“We were concerned at halftime, and he insisted on playing,” Carlisle said after Game 5. “I thought he made a lot of really good things happen in the second half. But he’s not 100%. There’s a lot of guys in the series that aren’t.”
For the first time in these playoffs, the Pacers are trailing in a series. It didn’t happen against Milwaukee in the first round, against Cleveland in the Eastern Conference semifinals or against New York in the Eastern Conference Finals.
But Oklahoma City’s win in Game 5 marked the first time Indiana — which had won 10 consecutive games immediately following a loss coming into Monday — has dropped two straight games since mid-March.
It also makes the math very simple now: The Pacers must win Thursday at home to force a Game 7, then must win in Oklahoma City on Sunday night if they are going to capture an NBA title for the first time.
Physical at the point of attack, Oklahoma City made it a priority to keep Tyrese Haliburton uncomfortable in Game 5.
Haliburton played 10:04 of the first quarter Monday, then left for the locker room area and emerged with a wrap on his lower leg. Haliburton checked back into the game with 8:27 left in the first half.
The injury — whatever it is — has been an issue for much of the series. Haliburton was clearly limping after Game 2, then said before Game 3 that there wasn’t much to discuss, calling it “just a lower leg thing.”
“He’s a fighter,” Pacers forward Pascal Siakam said. “He’s been our rock all year. He’s a big reason why we’re here. I don’t know exactly what’s wrong, but I know he’s fighting and he’s going to give us everything he’s got.”
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
