Game 3: Pacers aren’t 100% but are set to play host to Thunder in pivotal NBA Finals matchup

By Canadian Press on June 11, 2025.

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 is 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.”

The series is tied at a game apiece. The Thunder are 5.5-point favorites for Game 3, according to BetMGM Sportsbook.

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 figures the adrenalin rush of Game 3 at home — Indiana’s first home NBA Finals game since 2000 — will 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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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

Tim Reynolds, The Associated Press

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