Jun 18, 2025, 09:41 AM ET
Tyrese Haliburton confirmed that he is dealing with a right calf strain but added that he will do whatever he can to play in Thursday’s must-win Game 6 for the Indiana Pacers.
“I have to understand the risks, ask the right questions,” Haliburton said Wednesday. “But I’m a competitor. I want to play. I’m going to do everything in my power to play.”
But the Pacers are preparing for the possibility of Haliburton not being available against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
“He’ll go through the day tomorrow,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle told reporters. “Our prep session is tomorrow late afternoon. They’ll get together and do some testing. That will determine whether he plays or not. If he doesn’t play, we have a plan, obviously, if we’re without him.”
Haliburton took part in the Pacers’ practice Wednesday, but that involved sitting through 25 minutes of film, a 30-minute walk-through and then some light shooting while basically flat-footed the whole time.
The team officially listed him as questionable for Game 6 when it submitted its injury report later in the day.
Haliburton is trying every treatment he can think of — hyperbaric chambers, needles, massage, electronic stimulation, special tape — to help his strained right calf, a diagnosis that was confirmed by an MRI exam Tuesday.
“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. “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.”
Carlisle also addressed his star player’s status earlier in the day 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,” Carlisle said.
Haliburton had been dealing with a lower right leg injury throughout the series, and it worsened during Monday’s Game 5 loss. He played with the injury for most of his 34 minutes but failed to make a field goal as Indiana lost 120-109 to fall behind 3-2 in the series, leaving the Pacers in a win-or-else situation.
If Haliburton cannot play, it would seem likely that the Pacers would promote guard T.J. McConnell to a starting role. McConnell has been brilliant throughout the playoffs and sparked a rally in which Indiana closed an 18-point deficit to two in the second half of Game 5 before Oklahoma City pulled away for good.
“He is another ball handler, someone that can get us to our spots, push the pace,” Pacers forward Pascal Siakam said of McConnell. “He played great last game. He is going to be huge for us going forward too.”
Haliburton left Game 5 late in the first quarter and returned to the bench area with a wrap on his lower leg. The Pacers, Carlisle said, discussed keeping Haliburton out for the second half. Haliburton vetoed those plans and played 17 minutes in the second half, leading the Pacers in rebounds and assists after intermission.
But Haliburton barely looked to shoot in the second half. It marked the first time in Haliburton’s career that he logged at least 34 minutes in a game and failed to make a single field goal.
After his postgame news conference following Game 2, Haliburton limped off with what was later revealed to be a right ankle injury. On Monday, he acknowledged this injury was in the “same area.”
“We got soldiers on this team,” Pacers forward Obi Toppin said. “We’re going to try to play through any type of injuries or anything. Ty is a soldier. He’s most likely going to be good. We don’t know yet.”
Haliburton is averaging 15.0 points, 7.2 assists and 6.2 rebounds on 45% shooting through the first five games of the series.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
