{"id":1807,"date":"2025-06-21T08:06:10","date_gmt":"2025-06-21T08:06:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1807\/"},"modified":"2025-06-21T08:06:10","modified_gmt":"2025-06-21T08:06:10","slug":"tyrese-haliburtons-biggest-moment-in-game-6-was-simply-showing-up-for-his-pacers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1807\/","title":{"rendered":"Tyrese Haliburton\u2019s biggest moment in Game 6 was simply showing up for his Pacers"},"content":{"rendered":"

INDIANAPOLIS \u2014 Tyrese Haliburton was noticeably hobbled in the Indiana Pacers<\/a>\u2019 Game 5 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday. He didn\u2019t make a single field goal and finished with just four points.<\/p>\n

After the game, Haliburton said that if he could walk, he would play<\/a> in Game 6, despite having a strained right calf. It is the NBA Finals, after all.<\/p>\n

Despite Haliburton\u2019s assertion, Indiana was written off as dead. But if we\u2019ve learned anything from watching these Pacers, it\u2019s that they\u2019re at their best when their backs are against the wall.<\/p>\n

Haliburton went through the team\u2019s pregame walkthrough and underwent various strength tests on Thursday. Coach Rick Carlisle told reporters before the game that Haliburton would play without a minutes restriction, though he would be monitored \u201cclosely.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s super important to us,\u201d Carlisle said. \u201cI think the big thing was just there wasn\u2019t a lot of drama. The drama was created in the press somewhat because there\u2019s a lot of talk about it. It was not coming from him. He was straightforward. He didn\u2019t want a lot of attention. He was doing everything possible to be able to play.\u201d<\/p>\n

Haliburton played just 23 minutes in the Pacers\u2019 108-91 victory that forced a decisive Game 7. He missed his first four shots but found his rhythm and knocked down his fifth attempt late in the first quarter.<\/p>\n

In a must-win scenario, Haliburton was exactly who his team needed him to be.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a tough kid,\u201d teammate Pascal Siakam said. \u201cI had no doubt that he was going to be out there with us. It just shows he\u2019s one of our leaders on the team and he\u2019s doing everything he can to be out there for us, and we appreciate that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Added Myles Turner: \u201cIt was never a doubt, man. I think that he answered the call obviously, but as far as playing and whatnot, I knew he was going to be out there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Haliburton went to the bench with 5:25 remaining in the third quarter and rested for the remainder of the game. He finished with 14 points, five assists and two steals. He made 5 of 12 from the field and 3 of 7 beyond the arc.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe did amazing,\u201d teammate Obi Toppin said. \u201cHe led us to a win, and he\u2019s a soldier. He\u2019s not going to let no little injury hold him back from playing in the finals and helping this team win. He\u2019s helped us get to this point, and he\u2019s going to keep going until he can\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

Haliburton\u2019s heroics didn\u2019t include a game-winning or game-tying shot. Instead, it was all about showing up \u2014 both physically and on the stat sheet.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust everything he\u2019s dealing with, with his body and how he continues to lead, and just give 100 percent whenever he\u2019s out there just trickles down to us,\u201d Pacers guard Ben Sheppard said. \u201cWe look at him for hope and energy, and that\u2019s what he\u2019s able to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whatever level of pain Haliburton was in during Thursday\u2019s game, he said it wasn\u2019t top of mind.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just look at it as I want to be out there to compete with my brothers,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ve had such a special year, and we have a special bond as a group. I think I\u2019d beat myself up if I didn\u2019t give it a chance. I just want to be out there and fight.<\/p>\n

\u201c(I) just had to have an honest conversation with Coach that if I didn\u2019t look like myself and was hurting the team, like, sit me down. Obviously, I want to be on the floor, but I want to win more than anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

Haliburton\u2019s passion and intensity were on full display in the Pacers\u2019 rout. As was his showmanship. In the second quarter, Haliburton stole a pass from the Thunder\u2019s Jalen Williams, tip-toed on the sideline to stay inbounds and then, with a pirouette, tossed a no-look pass that led to a monster dunk from Siakam.<\/p>\n

As he raced back down the court, Haliburton high-fived a few people sitting courtside.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was so tired after that,\u201d Haliburton said. \u201cI was really hoping they would call a timeout, but we had to get back out on defense. That\u2019s a special moment especially because we are always getting on Pascal for not dunking anymore. That was cool to see.<\/p>\n

\u201cHonestly, me and Pascal have not spoken about this play yet. I don\u2019t know if we will until this is over. But, definitely a lot of fun, and if we are fortunate enough to go on and win this thing, I think that play will be remembered for a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Haliburton isn\u2019t celebrating yet. He\u2019ll have two days to rest and recover as best as he can. But come Sunday night, in the loudest environment in the NBA, Haliburton and the Pacers will once again be in a do-or-die situation.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got one game. One game,\u201d Haliburton said. \u201cNothing that\u2019s happened before matters, and nothing that\u2019s going to happen after matters. It\u2019s all about that one game.\u201d<\/p>\n

The numbers behind Tyrese Haliburton\u2019s clutch postseason.<\/p>\n

(Photo: Maddie Meyer \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"INDIANAPOLIS \u2014 Tyrese Haliburton was noticeably hobbled in the Indiana Pacers\u2019 Game 5 loss to the Oklahoma City…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1808,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[1267,1260,1268,62,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-1807","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba","8":"tag-indiana-pacers","9":"tag-nba","10":"tag-oklahoma-city-thunder","11":"tag-sports","12":"tag-united-states","13":"tag-unitedstates","14":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114720327896678572","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1807","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1807"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1807\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1808"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1807"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1807"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1807"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}