Oklahoma City Thunder 120, Indiana Pacers 109.
Q. Rick said there was a discussion at halftime about whether you should keep going or not and that you insisted on playing, even though you're obviously laboring. What went into that decision and can you explain how limited you were out there?
TYRESE HALIBURTON: I mean, it's the NBA Finals. It's the Finals, man. I've worked my whole life to be here and I want to be out there to compete. Help my teammates any way I can.
I was not great tonight by any means, but it's not really a thought of mine to not play here. If I can walk, then I want to play. They understand that. And it is what it is. Got to be ready to go for Game 6.
Q. How did you try to affect the game in the second half? And then you guys got it down to two in the fourth quarter, what do you think got away from you after that?
TYRESE HALIBURTON: Just trying to keep pace in the game, impact whatever way I can. Just trying to get P the ball in the right spots. Try to get the ball to guys in the right spots if I can.
As far as what happened there, we have to watch film to see it. We feel like we did a good job in the second half of putting pace in the game, and really getting out and running. We thought we did a better job of that in the second half, but we have to really cut down on the turnovers. The turnovers are really killing us right now, especially the first half.
We know we can be better there. We've got to be ready to go for Game 6.
Q. First of all, do you believe this is a continuation of that injury you had in Game 2 that we saw? And secondly, what about those turnovers stood out? What were they doing that made things awfully difficult?
TYRESE HALIBURTON: Yeah, it's the same area. So I don't know if they are related. But yeah, it's the same area.
As far as the turnovers, again, it's a thing you've really got to watch film on. I feel like some of them were self-inflicted. Obviously, they are a great defensive team. They really swarm the ball. But we have to do a better job taking care of the ball.
All three of our losses, turnovers have been a big reason why. We have to do a better job taking care of the ball if we want to have a chance in Game 6.
Q. Beginning of the whole Finals, you spoke on the history of the franchise, the generations of people, ticket-wise, how it's gone through families, the pride of the city with this team. When you think about that going into a game like that, knowing that this franchise has not won an NBA championship in its history, does it bring motivation? Pressure? A combination of both? Do you even think about that when you go home and walk into that crowd?
TYRESE HALIBURTON: The thought is if you lose, the season is over. So our backs are against the wall. We take pride in playing at home in front of our fans, and our fans are amazing. We know they are going to come out with a ton of energy in Game 6. So we're going to have to be able to respond, be better. Look forward to the challenge.
We've got to take this a day at a time. Our backs are against the wall. You have to look at Game 6 like it's a Game 7. If you lose, your season is over. We've got to go in and take care of business, just approach the game the right way. See where we can get better in film and be ready to compete.
Q. Have you felt the weight of the city at all and their dreams of having this?
TYRESE HALIBURTON: Yeah, I think our city, our fans are as hungry for this as we are as players. That's a lot of fun. Competing and playing at highest level is a lot of fun. We have fun with this challenge. Nobody said this was going to be easy. We've got to be ready to go for Game 6.
Q. On this point, you've talked about all the comebacks this season, not only in the playoffs but before that. How much does that give you muscle memory in a situation like this when you're facing elimination?
TYRESE HALIBURTON: We've had our backs against the wall many different times over the last two years and had to find different ways to win. The way that this year has gone, nobody said this was going to be sweet.
It's kind of poetic that we're here. We've got to be ready to go for Game 6. Our backs are against the wall. It's a really tough team. We're going to have to go home and get ready the next couple days. There shouldn't even be a conversations about Game 7 or anything like this. This is the game and everybody has to be prepared. It starts with me, and we've all got to be better. That's just point-blank, period.
Q. This is the first time I have seen you guys get sped up by a defense in the playoffs. In what sense do you feel like that contributed to your turnovers?
TYRESE HALIBURTON: Yeah, that's a good point. We've got to be better. Honestly, I want to watch the film. See where different areas, anything like that, especially in the fourth. We had some really bad turnovers, me personally.
We've just got to do a better job of getting spaced, getting downhill, I think that's the most important thing, keeping pace in the game. We really got after it in the second half. Cut the lead down. They just made shot after shot. We didn't make enough plays that we needed to down the stretch.
Watch some film, see where we can get bette. But 22 turnovers against a team like this is a recipe for disaster. I think that should be the main area that we focus on going into the next game. Obviously we can be better on many, many points on the court. But I think taking care of the ball is the biggest thing.
Q. Along those lines, as frustrating as this outcome is, to have gotten down so big and come back, what are positives that you can take away from this as you go into Game 6?
TYRESE HALIBURTON: I think the fight is always going to be there from this group. We've shown that when our backs are against the wall, we have many different guys that can chip in. We have shown that we are always going to fight.
Going home, there's not a better opportunity than to fight on your home floor. So that's going to be a lot of fun. It's going to be a lot of fun playing a win-or-go-home game at our home. That's going to be a lot of fun. I look forward to competing, and we'll be ready to go.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports