Pacers Can’t Overcome Haliburton Injury
Photo: Special to the NY Beacon
By Samori Benjamin
The Indiana Pacers lost their best player and lost the NBA Finals in game 7 Sunday evening in Oklahoma City, losing by the final score of 103-91. Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton fell to the ground with an Achilles injury at the 4:55 mark of the first quarter with OKC up 18-16. Haliburton had already made three 3-point shots. He would not return. Indiana battled and led by one at halftime, but they were outscored 34-20 in the third quarter which put the game out of reach.
“What happened with Tyrese, all of our hearts dropped,” Pacers Head Coach Rick Carlisle said after the game. “But he will be back. He authored one of the great individual playoff runs in the history of the NBA with dramatic play after dramatic play. It was something that no one has ever seen. And did it as one of 17, that’s the beautiful thing about him. As great a player as he is it’s always a team thing. So, our heart goes out to him, but I’m so proud of everyone.”
Swingman Benadict Mathurin came off the bench and led Indiana in scoring with 24 points and 13 rebounds. Indiana will try and stay in the championship hunt next season without their star. Haliburton is expected to miss the majority of next year.
The Indiana Pacers have won 3 championships in 1970, 1972, and 1973, all in the ABA. They are still looking for their first NBA title. Before losing the title game last Sunday, they last were in the Finals in 2000 when they lost in 6 games to the Los Angeles LAkers.
Editor’s Note: Sports Editor Andrew Rosario contributed to this article.
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