INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — There are somewhere between three and five games left in the NBA season. Until then, nobody is going to be 100%.
Tyrese Haliburton clearly isn’t. He’s not going to make excuses, either.
The Pacers’ star guard was limping Sunday night after a Game 2 loss in Oklahoma City. Whatever the specifics of the issue are, he’s not saying. And put simply, nothing was going to hold him out of play in Game 3 against the Thunder on Wednesday night.
“Really just a lower leg thing. I’ll leave it at that,” Haliburton said. “I don’t think there’s anything more to elaborate. I feel fine and I’ll be ready to go for Game 3.”
Indeed, he was ready to go for Game 3: The teams went with their same starting lineups.
The series entered Wednesday tied at a game apiece. The Thunder came in as 5.5-point favorites for Game 3, according to BetMGM Sportsbook.
There were some only-in-Indy touches for Game 3. Indianapolis Motor Speedway was lit up in gold for the evening, and Indianapolis 500 champion Alex Palou arrived for Game 3 driving — what else? — a pace car from the race.
Everybody on both sides of these finals probably has some level of bumps and bruises to deal with; both teams are over the 100-game mark for the season. Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said Haliburton is dealing with discomfort, but he noted it is improving by the day.
Carlisle figured the adrenalin rush of Game 3 at home — Indiana’s first home NBA Finals game since 2000 — would cure a lot of ailments.
“I mean, there’s just so much to be excited about,” Carlisle said. “We’ve got a couple guys that are slightly under the weather. I don’t think anything is going to keep these guys from playing in the game.”
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