As the final buzzer sounded, Tyrese Haliburton stood there on his crutches, waiting for his teammates to get back to the locker room while standing on one leg. He only played seven minutes in Game 7, and left the first quarter with an injury, and never returned until the final buzzer sounded with the Oklahoma City Thunder clinching the championship.

As tough as it gets, injuries are unpredictable, and playing through one is no easy feat. Haliburton already made it happen when he pushed through to play in Game 6, but he could not make it back-to-back as he slid down en route to a drive in the wing. That led to a turnover and an OKC basket, before the Pacers called a timeout and checked on their star.

Without Haliburton, the Finals were suddenly tipped into OKC’s favor even further. The Pacers needed their floor general to control the pace. Without Haliburton, Indiana faltered, and they could not find a way to score bigger baskets while trimming down the Thunder's lead. If anything, it was a painful ending to one of the most inspiring playoff runs, all because Haliburton got injured.

An Inspired Run

We have seen how Tyrese Haliburton has knocked down top teams in the Eastern Conference with his clutch performances, and those have also reached the biggest stage of the game. However, injuries, no matter what they are, will always hurt and sting as they come unpredictably, considering that it does come at the worst possible time.

Haliburton already got injured with a right calf strain in Game 5, and he still played through it in a decisive Game 6 win, only to injure the same right leg in Game 7 – where he already made three threes and the showdown was starting to brew for a fantastic finish. Instead, Indiana had to fight to the finish against an inspired OKC squad backed by their crowd that never sat a single second in the game.

Still, Haliburton definitely had a massive campaign to remember, and he was certainly showing the best of his game when it mattered most. However, falling short by just a single game in the biggest stage of the NBA world has got to sting not just for the team or fans, but for the very man who pulled off huge performances to make it even possible.

An Untimely Injury

The injury was seen by many fans all over the world, but also by everyone in the arena and on the floor. As soon as the Pacers called a timeout, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was quick to check on his opponent as he saw him fall before his eyes, with the latter then picking up the ball and cruising for a possession on the other end.

“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.”

Haliburton was shouting “No! No!” as he dropped on the floor while his teammates and Pacers staff approached. He was slapping the floor hard, knowing that he may had to be taken out of the game – and it happened, while also dooming the Pacers’ chances of winning.

Should the MRI scan reveal a torn Achilles tendon, it would be the third time that a player wearing the number 0 to get injured by an Achilles, including Jayson Tatum and Damian Lillard – both players in the Eastern Conference as well.