Tyrese Haliburton has been the darling of the 2025 NBA playoffs. Without his presence, the Indiana Pacers wouldn’t even be in the position that they are currently in. Unfortunately, the Pacers may have lost Game 5 against the Oklahoma City Thunder because of his presence.
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Poor performances have affected Haliburton throughout this playoff run. He has scored just single-digit points in two games coming in the semifinals and conference finals. Game 5 officially became the third game he failed to produce in the scoring column.
Haliburton finished the game with 4 points. 7 rebounds and 6 assists. He didn’t convert a single field goal in 34 minutes. Haliburton couldn’t find a rhythm after aggravating his calf early in the first half. His resiliency is admirable, but doesn’t hold the same impact when Indiana had his backup filling the void that he left.
T.J. McConnell was sensational for the Pacers, especially in the third quarter. He scored 13 points in the period and dwindled an 18-point lead down to eight. Instead of riding the hot hand, Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle decided to go back to Haliburton. A decision that Stephen A. Smith isn’t a big fan of.
“I thought it was a colossal mistake on the part of Rick Carlisle,” Smith said on ESPN’s First Take. “T.J. McConnell is rolling, you got to roll with that right now.”
The Pacers were within 2 points at one point in the 4th quarter, making Game 5 look like almost a re-run of Game 1. However, this time around, Jalen Williams was ready for that and came up big with 40 points. It did not help that Thunder capitalized on Haliburton passing up shots, and hounded the Pacers on defense.
Smith could understand bringing Haliburton back into the game if he was providing some life to the team. The calf injury limited Haliburton from looking even remotely like himself. Smith thought Carlisle would’ve taken a different approach to Game 5 due to that information, considering his championship pedigree.
“Not only should [Rick Carlisle] have pulled Haliburton, he should not have allowed Haliburton on the bench. He should have sent him back to the locker room and said, ‘Go get treated now, so we can get ready for Game 6,'” Smith said.
Luckily, the Pacers have two full days to recover before Game 6. That gives Haliburton an additional day to take the necessary precautions to hopefully be at peak shape to force a Game 7. However, the journey to doing so won’t be easy.
Indiana is at their best when Haliburton is fueling their offense. They won’t have a sliver of a chance to win this series if he is unable to produce at the level Indiana has grown accustomed to.
Game 6 will take place on Thursday, June 19, at 8:30 PM ET and will either be another example of Indiana’s resilience or the crowning of a new NBA champion.
