A dark cloud stood over the NBA season’s decisive contest when Tyrese Haliburton exited Game 7 of the NBA Finals early.
Haliburton, who was playing through a calf strain, went down on a non-contact injury during the first quarter. The Indiana Pacers’ superstar sat out the rest of a 103-91 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, and his father, John Haliburton, confirmed that the 25-year-old point guard sustained an Achilles injury.
The NBA world watched in dread as Haliburton suffered the crushing setback. Former Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas was among the many to send their condolences on social media Sunday night.
The two-time All-Star wondered if Haliburton’s calf issue made him more vulnerable to Sunday’s severe leg injury.
“Them calf strains are nothing to play with,” Thomas wrote. “The next thing if not healed right is always Achilles. Man I feel bad for bro!!”
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It was a bitter ending to a legendary postseason from Haliburton, who led the Pacers to an Eastern Conference title as the No. 4 seed.
In the opening round, Haliburton sent the Milwaukee Bucks home with a game-winning layup in overtime of a series-clinching Game 5. In the next round, he put Indiana up 2-0 over the favored Cavaliers with a game-winning three that cemented a massive fourth-quarter comeback.
The Pacers trailed the New York Knicks by 14 with less than four minutes remaining in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Haliburton improbably sent the game into overtime with a shot that bounced off the rim and hovered in the air before falling into the basket.
Haliburton started the NBA Finals with another game-winner to seal yet another come-from-behind victory. He averaged 17.3 points, 8.6 assists and 5.3 rebounds per game throughout an unforgettable postseason.
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“He authored one of the great individual playoff runs in the history of the NBA with dramatic play after dramatic play,” Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said after Sunday’s Game loss, via NBA.com’s Jordan Morey. “It was just something that no one’s ever seen.”
