Tyrese Haliburton Leaves Game 7 With Apparent Achilles Injury


Tyrese Haliburton and the Indiana Pacers’ worst nightmare was realized when he appeared to tear either his calf or Achilles. The injury occurred in the first quarter of Game 7. Haliburton’s father, John, confirmed to ESPN it is indeed an Achilles injury. He will not return.

With five minutes remaining in the first quarter, Haliburton caught the ball above the arc and pump-faked before driving to the basket. As he drove by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Haliburton appeared to pop his calf/Achilles region. He immediately went to the floor, writhing in pain, and was helped off the court.

Haliburton had a terrific start to the game, scoring nine points in seven minutes on three triples.

The sequence of events over the last few games brings back unpleasant memories of when Kevin Durant suffered a similar fate during the 2019 NBA Finals.

Durant had missed time in the 2019 playoffs due to a calf strain, only to return for Game 5 of the Finals. He then ruptured his Achilles in the first half of action.

Haliburton successfully played 22 minutes in Game 6 after suffering a calf strain in Game 5.

In the absence of Haliburton, the Pacers will be forced to rely heavily on Andrew Nembhard, TJ McConnell and Ben Sheppard.

NBA Players Rally Around Haliburton

While the Pacers, which lead 48-47 at halftime, look to put up a fight in the absence of their superstar, NBA players sent in their well wishes and sadness over the injury on social media.

Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James shared his frustration while New York Knicks stars Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and Karl-Anthony Towns all tweeted prayers.

 





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