The NBA world was thrilled to get a rare Game 7 in the NBA Finals.
But just minutes into that contest between the Indiana Pacers and the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday night, everything shifted.
Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton went crashing down to the court during the first quarter, appearing to re-injure his strained right calf during a non-contact moment. He immediately started pounding the floor at the Paycom Center, too, and was extremely emotional as play went the other way.
The Pacers quickly ruled him out just a few minutes later with what they called a right “lower leg injury.” Further specifics are not known, though Haliburton’s father confirmed to ESPN that it is an Achilles injury.
Almost immediately, players from across the league chimed in on social media. Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James shared what most of basketball fans were feeling in a very not-safe-for-work way.
He was far from alone.
Even Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes chimed in.
Haliburton first went down with the calf injury during Game 5 of the series, though he returned to the court for the Pacers’ Game 6 win on Thursday. He had 14 points and five assists in that 108-91 win, which forced Sunday’s Game 7.
Haliburton was off to a great start on Sunday night, too. He had nine points and went 3-of-4 from the 3-point line before he went down to keep the Pacers in the mix early.
The Pacers, though, just couldn’t keep up without Haliburton. The Thunder flew ahead in the fourth quarter, and built up a 21-point lead briefly, before grabbing the 103-91 win. That gave the franchise its first title since relocating to Oklahoma.
The Pacers were playing in their first NBA Finals since 2000. They will now head home without what would have been their first title since the merger, and Haliburton will begin recovering — something that is sure to carry over well into next season.
