Pacers battle to stay alive

MANILA, Philippines — With or without star guard Tyrese Haliburton, Indiana will fight tooth and nail to avoid an inglorious end to the Pacers’ season before a home crowd in Game 6 of the NBA Finals against Oklahoma City at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse this morning (8:30 a.m., Manila time).

A Thunder win will make OKC the seventh different team to win the Larry O’Brien trophy since 2019 after Toronto, LA Lakers, Milwaukee, Golden State, Denver and Boston.

OKC downed Indiana in Games 4 and 5, dealing the Pacers their first back-to-back losses in the playoffs.

In Game 6, Indiana will try to defend homecourt where the Pacers are 7-3 in the post-season.

OKC is 5-4 on the road and if the Thunder fail to close out in Game 6, coach Mark Daigneault’s troops get a chance to seal it in Game 7 at the Paycom Center on Monday (Manila time).

Haliburton’s status was uncertain entering Game 6 but he’s determined to play despite the right calf strain that hampered his mobility in Game 5 where the NBA’s assist king finished with four points, all on free throws.

“If I can walk, then I wanna play,” he said.

Haliburton hurt his right ankle in Game 2 but soldiered on.

He strained his right calf in the first quarter of Game 5 yet still played 34 minutes.

In the Finals, Haliburton is averaging 15 points and 7.2 assists, down from 18.6 points and 9.2 dimes in the regular season.

Daigneault will once again focus on defense to get the job done.

In OKC’s three Finals wins, the Pacers were held to 106.7 points and 44.2 percent from the field.

In contrast, Indiana’s two wins came with the Pacers averaging 113.5 points and shooting 49.7 percent.

OKC has forced an average of 17.3 turnovers in its three victories with Indiana struggling to cope with the physicality of the Thunder’s swarming, switching and trapping defense.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been almost unstoppable in the Finals, averaging 32.4 points.

SGA, however, isn’t OKC’s only weapon.

Jalen Williams shot 40 points in Game 5 and Alex Caruso 20 each in Games 2 and 4.

Seven-foot Isaiah Hartenstein was reinstated in the starting lineup in Game 4 and his combination with 7-1 Chet Holmgren provides interior presence that’s hard to match.

In Game 5, OKC registered 12 blocks and Indiana, four.

Pacers coach Rick Carlisle’s dependence on a short rotation will make it more difficult for Indiana to execute its run-and-gun offense with Haliburton not 100 percent and the series dragged to a Game 6.

OKC is closing in on the championship and has two chances to bag it with Indiana’s back against the wall.