Tyrese Haliburton was not at his best during the Indiana Pacers’ 123-107 Game 2 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday night. Haliburton, after being the hero of Game 1, felt invisible in the first half of Game 2, scoring just three points on 1-5 shooting from the field as the Pacers went down by double digits in the second quarter, although this time, they were unable to muster up the energy to come back from such a huge deficit.
Haliburton did finish with 17 points on the night, but by the time he was making shots, it was already too late for the Pacers. Nevertheless, a split in Paycom Center is just about as good as the Pacers could have hoped for heading into Game 3 of the NBA Finals in Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
However, there is some concern surrounding the Pacers heading into that pivotal clash. Following Haliburton’s postgame presser, he was walking with a noticeable limp that could perhaps impact his performance the deeper both teams go in this year’s Finals.
Footage via Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files:
Tyrese Haliburton with a noticeable, slight limp arriving and leaving his press conference. pic.twitter.com/nJkqxwPBoj
— Scott Agness (@ScottAgness) June 9, 2025
It’s not quite clear if Haliburton is dealing with a legitimate lower-body injury that could hamper his movement speed for the rest of the series, or if he was limping simply as a result of all the fatigue he’s experiencing as a result of dealing with the Thunder’s suffocating defense for 34 minutes of game time.
OKC was right up in Haliburton’s grill for the entirety of the game; Lu Dort was sticking to him like glue, and the Pacers, as a result, struggled to generate many easy buckets especially in the first half.
The Pacers cannot afford to fall behind early in the game yet again, and having a healthy Haliburton would go a long way towards making sure that they keep in step with the Thunder in Game 3 to avenge their double-digit loss on Sunday night.
Thunder’s hounding defense is pushing the Pacers to their limit
The Pacers are unflinching in their identity; they will run after every made basket by the opponent to try and create advantages that they otherwise wouldn’t have if they slow down. However, unlike most teams in the NBA, the Thunder have the pace and the personnel to keep up with their run and gun style, forcing Indiana to thread the eye of the needle just to generate points on the board.
It’s downright exhausting to see the Pacers struggle to take care of the ball and get into their offensive sets cleanly, with Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard, and their other offensive initiators being picked up as soon as they cross halfcourt. And it’s no wonder that Indiana was feeling exhausted after that Game 2 rout.
The post Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton has noticeable limp after Game 2 loss to Thunder appeared first on ClutchPoints.
