Pacers lose Haliburton to injury, fall to Thunder in deciding Game 7 of NBA Finals
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The Indiana Pacers—already facing tough odds against winning Game 7 on the road—couldn’t overcome the early loss of injured star guard Tyrese Haliburton and fell to the host Oklahoma City Thunder 103-91 Sunday night in the deciding contest of the NBA Finals.
Oklahoma City won its first NBA championship by outscoring the Pacers by xx points in the second half.
Haliburton—who was playing with a strained right calf—tumbled to the court in a heap with 4:55 left in the first quarter, immediately began punching the floor in frustration and needed to be helped to the locker room. John Haliburton, Tyrese’s father, told ABC it was an Achilles tendon injury. Haliburton finished with 9 points on three 3-pointers in four attempts.
The Pacers hung tough in the first half despite Haliburton’s exit and managed a 48-47 halftime lead. But Oklahoma got hot in the third quarter, outscoring Indiana 34-20 in the period and building a 81-68 lead.
Guard T.J. McConnell tried to keep the Pacers in the game, scoring 12 of his 16 in the third quarter.
The Thunder built the lead to 22 in the fourth quarter before the Pacers chipped away to pull within 10 in final minutes and make it interesting.
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