INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton is feeling “discomfort” with a “lower leg thing” but expects to play in Game 3, he said Tuesday.
Haliburton was noticeably limping after Indiana lost Game 2 123-107 on Sunday to the Oklahoma City Thunder, in which he scored 12 of his team-high 17 points in the fourth quarter. He’s not expected to be on the injury report for Game 3, as this is the most crucial set of games he’s ever played, and no one on the Pacers is interested in caution right now.
Game 3 is at 8:30 p.m. (ET) Wednesday in Indianapolis, and the series is tied 1-1. Haliburton is averaging 15.5 points, six assists and four turnovers per game and shooting just 33 percent from 3 in the series.
“At this time of year, I don’t know if anybody’s feeling perfect,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. “So he practiced (Tuesday) and he went through everything. I know he has some discomfort. He feels it, but each day is getting better. I don’t think you’re going to hear him making a big deal out of it. This is the time of year where it just doesn’t get any better than this.
“So we’ve got a couple of guys that are slightly under the weather, but I don’t think anything is going to keep these guys from playing in the game.”
It was not immediately clear who else Carlisle was referring to, but starting forward Aaron Nesmith (ankle) and backup center Tony Bradley (hip) dealt with injuries earlier in the playoffs.
Haliburton missed most of the Eastern Conference finals last year due to a hamstring strain and then complained about soreness from the same injury after the Olympics. It was unclear after Game 2 whether Haliburton’s injury was to his calf or ankle. All he said about it on Tuesday was, “It’s really just a lower leg thing, I’m gonna leave it at that. I don’t think there’s anything more to elaborate.”
Health aside, the focus will be on whether Haliburton can make a more significant impact earlier in Game 3. Yes, he hit the game-winning shot in Game 1 to open the series, but he finished with just 14 points, having scored six points through the first two quarters. In Game 2, he registered just five points, four assists, three turnovers and seven shots through three quarters.
Haliburton and Carlisle pointed to the number of big, switchable defenders the Thunder can throw at the Pacers’ star, not necessarily as the explanation for Haliburton’s slow starts, but just for his lower production so far in this series.
Oklahoma City, which was the best defensive team during the regular season and holds the same title in the playoffs, has utilized Luguentz Dort, one of the league’s best on-ball defenders, as the primary player on Haliburton, with help from Cason Wallace, Alex Caruso and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
“Both of our All-Stars, they can throw different, bigger, smaller, medium guys at Tyrese and at Pascal (Siakam),” Carlisle said. “It’s one of their strengths. We’ve gone through these situations many times, not only during the playoffs, but during the regular season, not just this season, but prior seasons. And so we’re going to have to adjust and create better situations.”
In echoing Carlisle, Haliburton said, “I think playing two games against these guys is good. It gives me more film to watch, see where I can be better.
“I feel like I haven’t been great by any means through the first two games. So I’m just trying to take what I can to prepare me for Game 3. And I’m trying to be the best version of myself. … The answers always lie in the film.”
During the regular season, Haliburton held a nearly 9:1 assist-to-turnover ratio. He has been nowhere near that against the Thunder, which have turned the Pacers over at an alarming rate. The Pacers have committed 40 turnovers in two games.
“Some of our turnovers have been so violently bad, the opponent hasn’t even had a chance to catch the ball,” Carlisle said, drawing quite a bit of laughter from the room of media.
“Tyrese has been historically great with ball security, and this team that we’re playing now presents unprecedented challenges,” Carlisle said. “They’ve been turning everybody over through the entire playoffs. So look, we’re going to have to have great spatial awareness with everything that we’re doing.
“You can’t play too careful against Oklahoma, or otherwise you’ll never get a basket.”
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