Indiana Pacers superstar Tyrese Haliburton had to be helped back to his team’s locker room after taking a fall in Game 7 of the NBA Finals on Sunday night.
The Pacers later ruled Haliburton out for the remainder of the game due to a right lower leg injury. ESPN’s Lisa Salters later added that it was confirmed to her by Haliburton’s dad that it was an Achilles injury.
The injury occurred midway through the first quarter as he was facing off against Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Haliburton tried to drive on Gilgeous-Alexander but fell to the ground on the play and immediately looked to be in pain, pounding the court in frustration.
As he was being helped back to the locker room, he was unable to put weight on his right leg and had to be supported by team staff on both sides.
Up to that point in the game, Haliburton had nine points in seven minutes and was three-for-four from three-point range.
“Keep it in your mind, keep it in your heart and win for him,” Pacers centre Myles Turner told ESPN courtside reporter Lisa Salters before the start of the second quarter.
Haliburton had been dealing with a leg injury throughout the series, re-aggravating it in the team’s Game 5 loss. However, he went on to play the rest of the game, and while he was listed as a game-time decision for Games 6 and 7, due to a calf strain, he managed to suit up.
“I think I have to be as smart as I want to be,” Haliburton said before Game 6 last week. “Have to understand the risks, ask the right questions. I’m a competitor. I want to play. I’m going to do everything in my power to play. That’s just what it is.”
The 24-year-old guard has had a solid run in the finals, averaging 14.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 6.8 assists while playing 33.8 minutes a night, the most on the Pacers.
Injuries have been a huge factor in these playoffs. Boston star Jayson Tatum was wheeled off with a right Achilles tendon tear that essentially ended any realistic hope the Celtics had of defending the title they won last season. He will surely miss at least some of next season as well.
Milwaukee’s Damian Lillard also tore an Achilles tendon in the Bucks’ first-round series against Indiana. Golden State’s Stephen Curry ran out of time before his injured hamstring could allow him to return to the Warriors’ second-round series against Minnesota. If the Los Angeles Lakers’ season had gone past the first round, LeBron James would have been sidelined with a knee sprain.
James was watching Game 7 and immediately posted his reaction to Haliburton’s injury on social media. It was a one-word expletive, which didn’t need much explanation.
For Lillard, for Tatum — and now, quite possibly, for Haliburton — the issues will linger into next season or rob them of the chance to play in 2025-26 entirely.
— with files from the Associated Press
