The Indiana Pacers’ magical run to the NBA Finals ended agonizingly on June 22, not just with a 103-91 Game 7 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, but with the devastating early exit of their superstar, Tyrese Haliburton.
The sight of Haliburton grimacing in pain and beating the Paycom Center hardwood just seven minutes into the biggest game in franchise history cast an immediate shadow over the contest and ultimately defined a night of profound disappointment.
Haliburton, who had battled a calf strain throughout the playoffs, collapsed untouched near the Pacers’ bench after a routine drive early in the first quarter. The severity was instantly apparent. Teammates and coaches rushed to his side as he writhed in agony, frustration etched on his face. Assisted off the court by veteran James Johnson and Myles Turner, unable to put weight on his leg, Haliburton did not return.
Initial post-game reports were unclear — a re-aggravation of the calf issue or a potentially more serious Achilles injury — but the damage was done. He was later seen on crutches, wearing a medical boot and greeting teammates in the somber locker room.
If Haliburton indeed sustained an Achilles injury, he will likely miss the entirety of the 2025-26 NBA regular season.
“Losing Tyrese was a huge blow,” a visibly drained head coach Rick Carlisle said. “He’s our engine. It’s a significant injury. I haven’t seen any diagnosis. We don’t know the extent yet, but it changed everything for us. Our guys fought incredibly hard under the circumstances.”
Fight they did.
Stunned but resilient, the Pacers refused to fold. Fueled by Bennedict Mathurin’s relentless energy (24 points and 13 rebounds) and the indefatigable heart of backup point guard T.J. McConnell (16 points, six rebounds and three assists), Indiana clawed its way to a surprising 48-47 halftime lead. McConnell, embodying the team’s underdog spirit, erupted for 10 points in the third quarter alone, briefly keeping the Pacers within striking distance as the Thunder threatened to pull away.
“It’s devastating,” McConnell said, emotions raw after the final buzzer. Tears were evident as he exited the court, embraced by family. “We believed. Even without Ty, we believed. I gave it everything I had, every single guy in that locker room did. We left it all out there. It just … it wasn’t enough tonight. This one hurts.”
Despite McConnell’s heroics and Mathurin’s double-double, the Pacers couldn’t sustain their collective effort without their floor general and primary ball handler.
The Thunder, particularly Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (SGA), sensed the opportunity. SGA, capping one of the most decorated individual seasons in recent memory, delivered a masterful Game 7 performance: 29 points, 12 assists (a career playoff high) and five rebounds. He orchestrated the Thunder’s decisive 34-20 third-quarter run that broke the game open, exploiting the gaps left by Haliburton’s absence.
Gilgeous-Alexander’s season reached its zenith: he was the NBA scoring champion, Western Conference Finals MVP and now Bill Russell NBA Finals MVP — an honor he received unanimously.
He joins Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Jordan and Shaquille O’Neal as the only players to win the scoring title, be a regular-season MVP and be a Finals MVP in the same season.
“It’s surreal,” Gilgeous-Alexander said, the Larry O’Brien Trophy shining beside him. “This group, this city … we earned this. We faced adversity; we stayed together. Doing it in Game 7, on our floor, is a dream come true. Hats off to Indiana; they battled incredibly hard, especially after losing Tyrese.”
While McConnell and Mathurin stepped up, other Pacers faltered under the pressure. Myles Turner, the longest-tenured Pacer, had another quiet night (6 points, four rebounds in 24 minutes). His future in Indianapolis is now a significant offseason question mark as he enters unrestricted free agency.
Pascal Siakam (16 points) fought but couldn’t consistently carry the offensive load, and the Pacers committed a damaging 23 turnovers, leading to 32 Thunder points — a fatal flaw magnified without Haliburton’s steadying presence.
Thunder’s Chet Holmgren anchored OKC’s defense with a game-high five blocks, the most ever recorded in a Game 7 of the NBA Finals since blocks became an official stat in 1973-74.
As the final minutes ticked away and the Thunder’s celebration began, many Pacers players swiftly made their way to the locker room tunnel, unable to watch the confetti fall. The image of Haliburton on crutches offering solace and McConnell breaking down encapsulated the cruel twist of their journey, so close yet derailed by a moment of terrible misfortune.
For Pacers fans, the dominant narrative won’t be the loss but the haunting “what if?”
What if Haliburton, playing at an All-NBA level throughout the playoffs, had stayed healthy? Could the Pacers, who split the first six games with OKC, have completed the upset with their leader?
“This is going to sting for a while,” one dejected Pacers fan remarked following the loss, echoing the sentiment of a fan base that dared to dream big. “We were right there. It feels … robbed.”
The Thunder earned their first championship since relocating to Oklahoma City 17 seasons ago (Seattle Supersonics), cementing their place in history with 68 regular-season wins and the title.
For the Pacers, the 2024-25 season will be remembered for its thrilling ascent and a heartbreaking, injury-marred finale that leaves a bitter taste and lingering questions about what might have been on basketball’s grandest stage.
The fight was valiant, but the dream died with Tyrese Haliburton’s first-quarter fall. Many Hoosiers will not forget it.
Contact Multi-Media & Senior Sports Reporter Noral Parham at 317-762-7846. Follow him on TikTok @HorsemenSportsMedia. For more Indiana Pacers news, click here.
Noral Parham is the multi-media & senior sports reporter for the Indianapolis Recorder, one of the oldest Black publications in the country. Parham has worked with various leagues to provide a diverse perspective in sports, including the Big Ten, Big East, IHSAA, IndyCar, MLB, NHRA, NFL, NBA, WNBA, WWE and the Olympics. Prior to joining the Recorder, Parham served as the community advocate of the MLK Center in Indianapolis and senior copywriter for an e-commerce and marketing firm in Denver.
