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Tyrese Haliburton's resilience and incredible ability to battle through a strained calf to lead the Indiana Pacers to a Game 7 against the Oklahoma City Thunder was already one of the NBA Finals' biggest storylines.
After Haliburton left the Thunder home crowd silenced early, nailing three clutch three-pointers early in the first quarter, the Pacers' Game 6 confidence had unquestionably carried over to Game 7.
Then, Haliburton suffered one of the most gut-wrenching moments in a Game 7 in recent memory.
While driving left, Haliburton slipped and immediately slammed the floor over and over while screaming in pain. The initial belief from many was that he had suffered an Achilles injury, and unfortunately, his father John confirmed that while speaking to Lisa Salters on the ESPN broadcast.
Tyrese Haliburton's dad, John, tells @saltersl that his son has an Achilles injury and is watching the game from the locker room in good spirits. pic.twitter.com/hmP206jamK
— ESPN (@espn) June 23, 2025
"I just spoke to Tyrese Haliburton's father, who has been back in the locker room with his son. Mr. Haliburton confirmed that it is an Achilles injury, and he said that Tyrese is doing as well as he can be under the circumstances," Salters said.
"The entire family is back there with him, his mom, his dad, his brother, he says that he seems to be in good spirits, he's watching the game and he's trying to root on his team from back in the locker room."
Related: Tyrese Haliburton's Dad Has Gut-Wrenching Reaction to Pacers Star's Game 7 Injury
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This story was originally published June 22, 2025 at 6:36 PM.