Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton eased concerns about his fitness on Tuesday as his team geared up to face the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 3 of the NBA Finals.
Haliburton was seen limping after Sunday’s heavy loss to the Thunder in Game 2, where he had a quiet performance and found it hard to break through Oklahoma City’s defense.
Despite this, Haliburton made it clear that he’s not worried about his condition as the Pacers aim to bounce back and take the lead in the series, which is currently tied at 1-1.
“I’m fine,” he told reporters. “It’s just a minor issue with my lower leg. That’s all I want to say about it. There’s nothing serious.”
He added that he feels good and will be ready to play in Game 3.
Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle also addressed the situation, saying Haliburton is feeling “some discomfort,” but noted that this is normal at this late stage of a tough, eight-month-long season.
“At this point in the season, no one is feeling 100%,” said Carlisle about Haliburton.
“He took part in practice and did everything. He’s feeling some pain, but it’s getting better every day. He won’t complain or make a big deal about it.”
Carlisle also mentioned that a few Pacers players weren’t feeling well, but nothing serious enough to stop them from playing the rest of the series.
“I don’t think anything will stop these guys from playing,” he added.
Right now, Carlisle is more focused on finding a better game plan to help the team play more consistently in the finals. So far, the Pacers have struggled to stay ahead. They barely won game one with a last-second shot from Haliburton, but got badly beaten in game two, which the Thunder led almost from start to finish.
“We’ve probably lost six or seven of the eight quarters played so far, at least on the scoreboard,” said Carlisle. “We’re up against a strong team. We have to make changes and play better.
“What’s already happened doesn’t matter now, except for the score. We need to focus on what’s ahead and improve in many areas. We know that.”
Meanwhile, Pacers star Pascal Siakam said the team must break Oklahoma City’s rhythm and do better on defense and rebounds to get back into the series.
“We have to get stops. That’s the first step,” said Siakam. “Stops lead to fast breaks.
“We also need to grab rebounds. Without stops and rebounds, you can’t really play the fast-paced game we like.
“We’re a team that likes to run, but to do that, we have to defend and rebound first.”