The Indiana Pacers have a steep hill to climb if they want to come back in Game 3, and they might be doing it with their star player hurt. Tyrese Haliburton has been there for the big shot throughout the postseason, but he went down with a calf injury in Game 5 against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Haliburton went to the locker room to address the injury, and then he returned to the game. He is dealing with some calf tightness, according to Shams Charania on the broadcast. Haliburton scored zero points in the first half as the Pacers went into the locker room down 59-45.

With the NBA Finals all tied up at two games apiece, Game 5 is obviously massive contest, especially considering the fact that Game 7 will be in OKC if necessary. The Pacers were trailing by 14 points at halftime, and Tyrese Haliburton likely won't be at 100% in the second half. He clearly wasn't playing up to his potential in the first half as he did not score.

The good news for the Pacers is that things really can't get any worse in the second half. Their best player got hurt and scored zero points in the first half, and they are still hanging around. If Haliburton stays in the game, he is going to need to step it up. We have seen the Pacers make numerous impressive comebacks so far in the playoffs, and they will need to make another one if they are going to come away with a win in Game 5.

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After leading by 10 points late in the third quarter of Game 4, things have changed drastically for the Pacers. It looked like Indiana was going to go up 3-1 in the series, and now they are on the verge of going down 3-2. The fourth quarter performance from the Thunder in Game 4 might end up being the difference in this series if things continue to trend in this current direction.

Outside of the final few minutes of Game 1, the Thunder have looked very impressive on their home court in this series. OKC had a comfortable lead for almost all of Game 1 before blowing the game late, and then they cruised to a blowout victory in Game 2. Going on the road was a different story, but the Thunder are once again playing very good basketball in front of their home crowd. Still, we know what Tyrese Haliburton and the Pacers are capable of. It's never over until it's over, and there is plenty of time for Indiana to pull off another miraculous comeback here in Game 5.