Pacers' Tyrese Haliburton Has Three-Word Response on Difficulty Playing Through Injury

Ricardo Klein | Jun 19, 2025

Jun 19, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) dribbles the ball against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the second quarter during game six of the 2025 NBA Finals at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images / Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

The Indiana Pacers are still alive!

More Pacers news: NBA Finals 2025: Pacers Force First Game 7 in Nearly Ten Years Against Thunder

The Pacers have forced a Game 7 against the Oklahoma City Thunder and will fight for their first title in franchise history on Sunday. Indiana dominated Game 6 from the second quarter on and will live to fight another day.

Indiana played like they have all season long in Game 6. They were gritty, tough, and relentless, and they played the entire 48-minute game in order to secure a Game 7 successfully.

🚨🚨 WE'RE GOING TO GAME 7 🚨🚨

The Pacers and Thunder will battle for the NBA CHAMPIONSHIP in a WINNER-TAKE-ALL GAME 7 on Sunday, June 22 at 8pm/et on ABC! #NBAFinals presented by @YouTubeTV 🏆 pic.twitter.com/LvbNt97Yuk

— NBA (@NBA) June 20, 2025

The Pacers came out on top, 108-91, and a large part of that was due to their star guard, Tyrese Haliburton. Haliburton, who came into this game and was listed as a game-time decision due to a calf injury, played well enough to lead his team to victory.

ESPN's Shams Charania reported that Haliburton's calf injury is a multi-week injury; however, given it is the NBA Finals, if he can walk, he could still play. That was the case on Thursday, and he let it be known after the game.

In his walk-off interview with ESPN's Lisa Salters, Haliburton had this perfect three-word response for gutting through his injury.

"It's the Finals," said Haliburton.

It's that simple. Unless Haliburton cannot walk or is severely injured, he was going to be on the course, and that was the course.

The 25-year-old star guard was solid in the contest. Across 23 minutes, Haliburton finished with 14 points on 5-of-12 shooting from the field, five assists, one rebound and two steals while being a +25 in the plus/minus department.

Although Haliburton has not been the best in this series, that could all change with a spectacular performance in Game 7. The odds will be stacked against them, as they have been all season and throughout the playoffs.

Nonetheless, the Pacers are a relentless team, and we will witness that on Sunday as they look for their first title in franchise history.

Haliburton is expected to play in that contest, barring anything catastrophic.

More Pacers news: Pacers' Tyrese Haliburton Guts Through Calf Injury in Gritty First Half

For more news and notes on the Indiana Pacers, visit Indiana Pacers on SI.