It’s not the image anybody wanted to see in Game 7 of the NBA Finals.
Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton laying face down on the court in the first quarter, pounding his fist into the hardwood.
The ESPN broadcast caught Haliburton telling the trainer: “I did it.”
Tears were on his face immediately.
Haliburton was heartbroken, and so were basketball fans everywhere.
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He’d had such a brilliant start. Haliburton drilled three 3-pointers in the early going, including two from way way way downtown.
Haliburton already had a strained right calf in the right leg, which is the one he clearly injured as he attempted to plant and drive to the basket.
The Pacers were down 18-16 with five minutes left in the first quarter when the injury happened.
It pressed T.J. McConnell into a likely every-minute role for the rest of the game.
But big picture concerns were hard to come by, even though it’s a Game 7. It’s impossible to get the image of Haliburton on the hardwood out of mind. It’s truly heartbreaking.
