The Indiana Pacers suffered the worst-case scenario in the first half of Game 7 of the NBA Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday night, June 22, as Tyrese Haliburton was lost for the contest to a lower leg injury.
Haliburton's injury was a non-contact issue that occurred midway through the first quarter. The immediate speculation on the broadcast and social media was that Haliburton had sustained an Achilles tear or rupture, just as Damian Lillard of the Milwaukee Bucks and Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics had earlier in the postseason.
Indiana's superstar limped off the court with tears in his eyes, and his father later confirmed to the ABC/ESPN broadcast team that Haliburton had suffered an Achilles injury. The precise nature of it was unknown as of halftime, though it is likely the star point guard has a long road of rehabilitation ahead of him.
Haliburton's Pacers teammates answered the call in the first half, taking a one-point lead into the locker room.
Players and personalities around the league took to social media to express their sadness and frustration with the circumstances, while Marc J. Spears put Haliburton's playoff run -- and its unfortunate end -- in historical context.
"Win or lose, Tyrese Haliburton will forever be a Pacers legend for literally putting his body on the line," Spears wrote.
Indiana entered the Eastern Conference playoffs as the No. 4 seed and bested the Bucks, Cleveland Cavaliers and New York Knicks to earn a berth in the Finals.
The franchise captured three ABA titles in the early 1970s but has never won an NBA title since the ABA-NBA merger brought all of professional basketball in the United States under a single umbrella.