After the hype surrounding Game 7 of the NBA Finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers, the game fell flat after a brutal injury early in the first quarter. Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton went down with a non-contact injury and never returned to the lineup.
It was initially feared that he suffered an Achilles injury, and it was confirmed during the game. After a massively successful playoff run for Haliburton, his season was cut short early in the biggest game of his career.
But Haliburton was playing with a strained calf, and there was more risk for something like this to happen. However, due to the magnitude of the moment, Haliburton decided it was worth playing on.
Once Haliburton went down, it sucked all the air out of the building. The Pacers could never recover from their leader leaving the court, and the Thunder capitalized on that fact.
After the game, Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander spoke about Haliburton. The NBA MVP offered his thoughts to the Pacers star, sending him all his prayers.
"My heart dropped for him. I couldn't imagine playing the biggest game of my life and something like that happening. I just felt so bad for him. Prayers go out to him for sure. Hell of a player," Gilgeous-Alexander said.
Like many others around the league, Gilgeous-Alexander felt horrible for Haliburton. But he was still in the moment of Game 7, so he couldn't allow all the emotions to start coming out.
Losing Haliburton completely deflated the Pacers, and they never recovered. While the team did keep things close in the first half, after halftime, the Thunder started to pull away.
However, injuries are a part of sports, and Indiana saw the worst of it.
The Pacers will now head into the offseason facing the reality of Haliburton likely missing the majority of next season. After an epic playoff run, this was a horrible way for the season to end.
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