Those words—“He will be back.”—hung in the arena long after the final buzzer. Pacers coach Rick Carlisle spoke them with a voice thick enough to break, and for a moment, the court felt too small to hold the weight of that loss.
Tyrese Haliburton, Indiana’s All-Star floor general, had led his team to the brink with nine first-quarter points—three of them triples punched in despite a nagging calf strain. Then, with 4:55 on the clock, he crumpled under a clear right lower-leg injury and was carried off in tears. His father, John Haliburton, confirmed it was the Achilles, delivering the gut punch that ended not only the game but a season of near-miracles.
Carlisle summed up the locker-room mood perfectly via Scott Agness on X:
“All of our hearts dropped. He will be back… He authored one of the great individual playoff runs in the history of the NBA.”
Carlisle on Haliburton: “All of our hearts dropped. He will be back.
“…He authored one of the great individual playoff runs in the history of the NBA.”
— Scott Agness (@ScottAgness) June 23, 2025
It was a Game 7 for the ages—Indiana clung to a 48-47 halftime edge, fueled by the Feverish energy of a franchise still chasing its first banner. But the Thunder, eager to shed their SuperSonics past, roared back in the second half, outscoring the Pacers 56-43 to capture Oklahoma City’s first title since 1979. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Finals MVP, poured in 29 points and 12 assists, proving cold-blooded when it mattered most.
Yet the final box score—Pacers 91, Thunder 103—tells only part of the story. The real heartache arrived when Tyrese limped from the paint, body collapsing under the very legacy he was building. Indianapolis has known heartache before: Reggie Miller’s Cavaliers choke, Paul George’s facial fracture, and now this—an Achilles tear to its brightest star.
Even in defeat, Indiana’s courage shimmered. They battled through 23 turnovers and 17 fouls, refusing to wilt in the clincher’s crucible. Carlisle watched, pride mixed with pain, as players dove for every ball, embodying a toughness born of decades of near-misses.
More to follow…
The post Rick Carlisle Reveals Pacers Heartbreaking Reaction to Tyrese Haliburton Injury After Game 7 Loss appeared first on EssentiallySports.