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Tyrese Haliburton could not have picked a more inopportune time to have one of the worst games of his career. On Monday night, Haliburton scored just four points without making a single one of his six field-goal attempts on the night as the Pacers suffered a 120-109 defeat against the Oklahoma City Thunder. in Game 5 of the 2025 NBA Finals. It's important to note, however, that Haliburton was dealing with a calf injury and was less than 100 percent.
Still, against a Thunder team that has close to no weaknesses, the Pacers cannot afford such a horrendous performance from Haliburton. Nevertheless, similar to how Haliburton always has his teammates' back, Pascal Siakam, the Pacers' best player in Game 5 who powered them to within two points in the fourth quarter before fading late, expressed his full support for his ailing teammate.
“He's a fighter. I think he's been our rock all year. He's a big reason why we're here. I don't know exactly what's wrong but I know he's fighting and he's gonna give us everything he got. We are 100 percent behind him, we support him. I think, one thing he's showed is resiliency. He's showed that all year.”
“I think that we can count on him to keep fighting and I admire that from him just ‘coz I know that it's hard. We got a couple days to take care of our bodies, rest well, and be ready for Game 6,” Siakam said in his postgame presser, via Yahoo Sports.
"I don't know exactly what's wrong, but I know he's fighting."
Pascal Siakam on Tyrese Haliburton's injury in Game 5. pic.twitter.com/1GXLqZPWR4
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) June 17, 2025
Haliburton does so much for the team from an execution standpoint that they cannot afford another stinker like this in Game 6. The Pacers will at least need him to pose a scoring threat; he doesn't necessarily have to score 30. But either way, Siakam and company will do whatever they can to give Haliburton the support he needs as they head into the biggest game of the season.
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Pascal Siakam nearly powers Pacers to yet another comeback
With Haliburton nursing an injury, forcing him to be less than 100 percent, the Pacers needed huge productions from the rest of the supporting cast to mount another comeback against the Thunder. For what it's worth, Siakam did everything he can, pulling the Pacers to within two points in the fourth (95-93) before he was subbed out by head coach Rick Carlisle to try and preserve his energy for crunch time.
TJ McConnell also did his fair share of the heavy lifting; he went off in the third quarter and cut the deficit to single digits. He ended up being a +4, and he could play a similarly huge role in Game 6 should Haliburton struggle yet again.
