Tyrese Haliburton Injury: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander And Rick Carlisle React as Star Guard Leaves Pacers vs OKC NBA Finals Game 7
The Indiana Pacers had momentum on their side, winning the game 6 at home. Players and fans were ready for the Pacers vs OKC NBA Finals game 7, until all left with the shock after Tyrese Haliburton went down in the first quarter, leaving the game and never returning. The game 7 was tied at 16-16 when Tyrese got injured. Later in the remaining minutes, the Pacers got outscored 87-75, losing the NBA championship to the Oklahoma City Thunder, 103-91.
Haliburton looked in control, scoring three three-pointers to silence the home crowd and with just under 5 minutes left in the first quarter, he stepped back with his right foot to begin a move against defender Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on the left wing. But Haliburton collapsed forward on his next step, his right leg failing him as he landed fade down.
The Pacers guard was in pain and immediately understood that his night was over. Devastated with the injury and the idea of not playing on a big night, he was seen slapping the floor repeatedly while wailing “No! No!”. He was surrounded by teammates, physio, and even OKC star Gilgeous-Alexander leaned in to check on Tyrese.
After the game, the Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said, “What happened with Tyrese, all of our hearts dropped. But he will be back. I don’t have any medical information about what may or may not have happened, but he’ll be back in time, and I believe he’ll make a full recovery.”
Champion and Finals MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander also showed his sympathy and said, “I couldn’t imagine playing the biggest game of my life and something like that happening. It’s not fair. I just felt so bad for him. Just asked if he was OK. … Obviously, he wasn’t.”
Also Read: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Creates History with First Ever Championship and NBA Finals MVP Award.
Haliburton was helped back to the visitors’ locker room without putting weight on that leg. The immediate medical report was just “right leg injury”, but further evaluations will be done on Monday. He was later seen on crutches, greeting his teammates in the tunnel.
Tyrese Haliburton Injury Makes Three Big Losses in NBA 2024-25 Season
Achilles injuries are devastating and take time to recover. While the severity of Tyrese Haliburton’s injury is not confirmed yet, the pain was clearly visible, raising concerns. The fear, however, is that an MRI report on Monday will reveal his injury as a torn Achilles tendon.
If so, it would be the third of the NBA postseason, following Damian Lillard and Jayson Tatum. The Milwaukee Bucks star guard, Lillard, got injured in the first round against Indiana and could miss the next season as well. Boston’s Jayson Tatum also went down with a similar injury in the semifinals against the New York Knicks and will miss the action for a long period.
In the 2019 Finals, Golden State Warriors’ Kevin Durant suffered an Achilles tear against Toronto and missed the next season while he was at the Brooklyn Nets. Raptors went on to win the title, just like OKC in 2025, who claimed the franchise’s first NBA championship.
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