Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton shrugged off fitness fears on Tuesday as his team prepared to regain momentum against the Oklahoma City Thunder in game three of the NBA Finals. Haliburton was seen walking with a limp following Sunday’s rout by the Thunder in game two, where he struggled to trouble the Oklahoma City defense.
Haliburton, however, insisted on Tuesday that his fitness was not a concern as Indiana looked to regain the lead after Sunday’s loss left the series tied at 1-1. “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. I feel fine and I’ll be ready to go for Game 3.”
Related news
Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle acknowledged that Haliburton was experiencing “some discomfort,” but he noted that this was to be expected as the grueling eight-month season reached its climax. “At this time of year, I don’t know if anybody’s feeling perfect,” Carlisle said of Haliburton. “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 that while “a couple” of Pacers players were under the weather, nothing would prevent them from lining up for the remainder of the series. “I don’t think anything is going to keep these guys from playing in the game,” Carlisle said.
The Pacers coach was more preoccupied with drawing up a game plan that can deliver a more consistent performance following an uneven start to the finals. The Pacers have trailed for most of the opening two games, winning game one with a last-second Haliburton basket before being blown out in game two in what was almost a wire-to-wire Thunder victory.
“I think we’ve lost, at least by scoreboard, six out of eight or seven out of eight quarters,” Carlisle said. “We’re playing a great team, so we’ve got to make adjustments. We’ve 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, meanwhile, said the key to reigniting the team’s finals challenge would be disrupting Oklahoma City’s offense and winning the battle for rebounds. “We’ve got to get stops. You get stops, you get in transition. That’s the first thing,” Siakam said. “We’ve 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.”
© 2024 AFP
