Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton downplayed fitness concerns on Tuesday as his team geared up to regain momentum against the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 3 of the NBA Finals. Haliburton was seen walking with a limp following Sunday’s rout by the Thunder in Game 2, where he struggled to make an impact against Oklahoma City’s defense.
“I’m fine,” Haliburton told reporters. “Really just a lower leg thing. I’ll leave it at that. I don’t think there’s anything more to elaborate.”
Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle acknowledged that Haliburton was experiencing “some discomfort,” but noted that such feelings are common as the grueling eight-month season reaches its climax. “At this time of year, I don’t know if anybody’s feeling perfect,” Carlisle remarked regarding Haliburton’s condition.
“He practiced. He went through everything. I know he has some discomfort. He feels it. But each day it’s getting better. I don’t think you’re going to hear him making a big deal out of it,” Carlisle added.
The coach also mentioned that while “a couple” of Pacers players were under the weather, nothing would prevent them from participating in the remainder of the series. “I feel fine and I’ll be ready to go for Game 3,” Haliburton stated confidently.
Carlisle’s focus was on developing a game plan that would yield a more consistent performance after an uneven start to the finals. The Pacers have trailed for most of the opening two games, winning Game 1 with a last-second basket from Haliburton, but suffering a blowout loss in Game 2, which was dominated by the Thunder.
“I think we’ve lost, at least by scoreboard, six out of eight or seven out of eight quarters,” Carlisle noted. “We’re playing a great team. So we’ve got to make adjustments. We got to play better. Everything that’s already happened doesn’t matter, other than the score of the series. We have to move forward. There’s a lot of things we have to do better. We realize that.”
Pacers ace Pascal Siakam emphasized that the key to reigniting the team’s finals challenge lies in disrupting Oklahoma City’s offense and winning the battle for rebounds. “We got to get stops. You get stops, you get in transition. That’s the first thing,” Siakam said.
“We got to also get rebounds. If you can’t do those two things, I don’t think you can be successful in transition. We know we can run. That’s what we do. It’s not really possible to run if you’re not getting stops or you’re not getting rebounds.”
As the Pacers prepare for Game 3, the focus will be on executing their game plan effectively to regain the series lead.
