Tyrese Haliburton insisted on playing through the pain during the Indiana Pacers' Game 5 defeat to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Haliburton had a sore right calf during the second half of their 120-109 loss to the Thunder, leaving Oklahoma one win away from lifting the NBA title. 

He went to the locker room early in the game before returning in the second quarter with his calf wrapped. He finished the encounter, but his output was limited.

Haliburton scored four points, matching the lowest scoring total of his playoff career, and finished without a field goal for the first time in his playoff career. 

The Pacers star limped off after his postgame news conference following Game 2, and acknowledged his latest injury was in the "same area" on Monday. 

"It's the Finals," Haliburton said. "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."

Haliburton had six total drives in Game 5, also his fewest in a game this postseason, and tied for the second fewest in a playoff game in his career.

But he still did his best to make an impact, adding six assists and seven rebounds in his 34 minutes on the court. 

final. pic.twitter.com/8TdUqVvWaN

— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) June 17, 2025

Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said it was clear Haliburton was not 100% but did not expect him to miss any games, especially with Indiana's season on the line after Monday's loss. 

History is now also against the Pacers. Teams that won Game 5 of the NBA Finals that were tied at 2-2 went on to win the series 23 times out of 31, a success rate of 74%. 

"[Haliburton's] not a hundred percent," Carlisle said. "There's a lot of guys in the series that aren't. This is a lifetime opportunity.

"Not many guys are going to sit, even if they are a little banged up. If you're injured, that's a different story. But we'll evaluate everything with Tyrese and see how he wakes up."

It will be hard for the Pacers to upset the Thunder if Haliburton is not fully fit given their reliance on his point scoring. 

Indeed, Indiana are 6-7 this postseason when Haliburton scores 20 or fewer points (8-0 when he scores more than 20).

Indiana's Game 5 defeat was also the first time all postseason that the Pacers have lost back-to-back games, ending a streak dating back to March. 

And Haliburton conceded that his team are going to have to dig deep to keep their season alive in Game 6, which takes place in Indianapolis on Thursday. 

"We've had our backs against the wall many different times over the last two years and had to find different ways to win," he said.

"The way that this year has gone, nobody said this was going to be sweet.

"It's kind of poetic that we're here. We've got to be ready to go for Game 6. Our backs are against the wall. It's a really tough team.

"Everybody has to be prepared. It starts with me, and we've all got to be better. That's just point-blank, period."