NBA Finals Game 7: Tyrese Haliburton suffers Achilles injury early in Game 7

Indiana Pacers All-Star Tyrese Haliburton left Game 7 of the NBA Finals on Sunday after re-injuring the right leg he initially hurt earlier in the series. 

Haliburton’s father, John, later told ESPN’s Lisa Salters his son had suffered an Achilles injury. The Pacers ruled out Tyrese Haliburton for the rest of the game in the second quarter with what they termed a right “lower-leg injury. The Thunder went on to a 103-91 win to secure the NBA championship.

Haliburton fell to the floor in the first quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder and pounded the court in immediate, obvious pain. His Pacers teammates came out to surround him after the ensuing stoppage in play. 

Haliburton couldn’t walk and eventually needed to be helped off the floor to the Pacers’ locker room. He hopped on one foot to the tunnel with the aid of a teammate and trainer, unable to put weight on his injured leg. 

He had a towel over his head as he made his way toward the locker room. Haliburton’s father put his head in his hand while watching from the stands. 

After the game, Haliburton was on crutches and wearing a medical boot as he made his way gingerly through the tunnel.

Pacers coach Rick Carlisle didn’t offer further details of Haliburton’s injury after the game. He told reporters his heart “dropped” when Haliburton suffered his injury. 

“What happened with Tyrese — all of our hearts dropped,” Carlisle said. “He will be back. I don’t have any medical information on what may or may not have happened. 

“He’ll be back in time. I believe he’ll make a full recovery.”

Haliburton’s dad to ESPN: It’s an Achilles injury

Salters reported before halftime she spoke with John Haliburton about his injury from the Pacers’ locker room. John confirmed what was feared, that the injury is to Haliburton’s Achilles tendon.

ESPN did not report the precise nature of the injury. An Achilles tear would mean a long road to recovery for Haliburton. The Boston Celtics’ Jayson Tatum and Milwaukee Bucks’ Damian Lillard suffered Achilles tears in earlier rounds of this year’s playoffs. Both are expected to miss most, if not all, of next season while recovering.

The injury is a devastating blow, not only to Haliburton and the Pacers, but to an NBA Finals that reached a Game 7 for the first time since 2016. Haliburton had strained his right calf in Game 5 and later said he understood the risks of continuing to play through the injury. 

“It’s a heartbreak, man,” Pacers center Myles Turner told Salters after the first quarter. “It’s unfortunate, in our biggest game of the year, that the injury didn’t hold up for him. 

“But we’ve got his back. That’s what it’s all about. Next-man-up mentality.”

SGA: ‘My heart dropped for him’

Thunder guard and Finals MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander spoke about Haliburton’s injury in his postgame news conference.

“You just hate to see it,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “In sports in general, but in this moment like, my heart dropped for him. I couldn’t imagine playing the biggest game of my life and something like that happening. 

“It’s so unfortunate. It’s not fair. But competition isn’t fair sometimes.”

Haliburton had an all-time playoff run

Haliburton was off to a hot start with a game-high nine points on three 3-pointers. He’s Indiana’s best player and has been the heart of the Pacers’ run through the playoffs into the Finals. 

Before Game 7, he averaged 17.7 points, 9 assists, 5.6 rebounds and 1.4 steals throughout the postseason while shooting 46.1% from the field and 32.9% from 3-point distance. He hit late shots to either win a game or force overtime in a Pacers win in each round of the playoffs, including in Game 1 of the Finals.

“He authored one of the great individual playoff runs in the history of the NBA with dramatic play after dramatic play,” Carlisle said after the game. “It’s just something that no one’s ever seen.”

When Haliburton initially sustained his injury early in Game 5, he continued to play. He also was able play in Game 6 as he helped lead the Pacers to a blowout win with 14 points and five assists in 23 minutes to force Game 7.

But the toll of the injury eventually caught up to him in the biggest game of the NBA season and of his stellar basketball career.