Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton tore his right Achilles tendon during the Pacers’ 103-91 loss in Game 7 of the NBA Finals, the team announced.
With five minutes left in the first quarter, Haliburton was attempting to drive toward the hoop when he collapsed to the ground. Haliburton began slamming the court in agony, seemingly already aware of the injury he suffered.
Haliburton entered the game with a right calf strain that he suffered in Game 5.
“I want to be on the floor, and if I have the ability to, if I can — like I said, if I can walk, I want to be out there,” Haliburton said after Game 6. “I just want to be out there with my brothers to compete.”
The broadcast cameras caught Haliburton already on crutches when he greeted his teammates as they walked off the floor in defeat Sunday night.
“What happened with Tyrese, all of our hearts dropped. But he will be back,” Indiana coach Rick Carlisle said after Game 7.
He added: “He authored one of the great individual playoff runs in the history of the NBA with dramatic play after dramatic play.”
Appearing in 23 playoff games, Haliburton averaged 17.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 8.6 assists for the Pacers during the postseason. He led the team to several improbable comebacks, including his dramatic game-tying shot at the end of regulation in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals, as well as his game-winning shot with 0.3 seconds left in Game 1 of the championship round.
Haliburton, 25, is under contract with Indiana through 2029.
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