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By Matt Levine
Contributing Sports Writer
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Game 7 of the NBA Finals was supposed to be one of the classic games in recent memory. After a solid series between the Indiana Pacers and the Oklahoma City Thunder, the final game became a dud very quickly.
Within the first few minutes of the game, Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton went down with a non-contact injury. Things didn't look great when he went down, and many expected that he suffered an Achilles injury.
Read more: Pacers' Tyrese Haliburton Gets Confirmation on Severity of Leg Injury
Read More on NBA
Haliburton was helped off the court and didn't return to the game. And the injury to Haliburton did more than just take him out of the game.
The injury sank Indiana, and they couldn't recover without their leader. While the Pacers made things interesting in the first half, Oklahoma City came on strong after halftime.
Following the heartbreaking loss, Pacers head coach spoke about the injury to Haliburton. Carlisle couldn't help but get emotional about his star player.
"What happened with Tyrese, all of our hearts dropped," Carlisle said. "But he will be back. I don't have any medical information about what may or may not have happened, but he'll be back in time, and I believe he'll make a full recovery.
"So, he authored one of the great individual playoff runs in the history of the NBA with dramatic play after dramatic play. It was just something that no one's ever seen and did it as 1 of 17. You know, that's the beautiful thing about him. As great a player as he is, it's always a team thing. And so, our hearts go out to him."
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Losing Haliburton cost the Pacers a chance at a title, but there was concern about him entering the game. Haliburton was playing on an injured calf, and there was an extra risk involved that things could get worse for him.
More NBA news: NBA Receives Strong Warning Following Tyrese Haliburton's Achilles Injury
However, he pushed through for a chance to win a title. Indiana was able to stave off elimination in Game 6 with Haliburton, but he seemed to be testing his limits.
Indiana will now head into the offseason with a lot of questions and an empty feeling after a long playoff run. Haliburton is likely to miss the majority of next season, and the Pacers' title hopes may have ended with him falling onto the court.
More NBA news:
Blockbuster Trade Proposal Sends Lakers' Austin Reaves to East Contender
Magic Johnson Reacts to Lakers' Record-Breaking Franchise Sale
Suns Have Reportedly Made Bradley Beal Decision After Kevin Durant Trade
For more on the Indiana Pacers, Oklahoma City Thunder, and general NBA news, head on over to Newsweek Sports.
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