Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton sat on the bench with a towel over his mouth and stared at the floor during the second quarter of Game 5. Indiana assistant Mike Weinar tapped Haliburton on his leg, seemingly to encourage him because Weinar knew his team’s leader was hurting — physically and mentally — as he watched his teammates try to rally without him.
Late in the first quarter, Haliburton crossed over Thunder center Chet Holmgren but immediately lost his balance. He was later seen holding his right calf and briefly went back to the locker room.
When Haliburton emerged, he was a shell of himself. Already prone to a few no-shows throughout these playoffs — with two single-digit scoring performances entering Monday night — Haliburton had another absentee performance in Game 5. However, it would be hard to argue his right leg didn’t compromise him as he limped around the court.
Haliburton was held scoreless in the first half, marking the third time in his playoff career in which he failed to score a point in a half, and he tied his playoff career-low with four points. The two-time All-Star missed all six of his shot attempts, including four 3-pointers, which was the first time Haliburton didn’t make a single shot in 36 playoff games. He was also limited to six assists and coughed up three turnovers.
As Indiana trails in a series for the first time this postseason, the health of Haliburton’s right leg will be something to monitor ahead of Thursday’s Game 6 in Indiana. If the Pacers hope to win and force a winner-take-all Game 7 in Oklahoma City, they’ll likely need Haliburton at full strength or as close to it as possible.
