The NBA Finals between the OKC Thunder and Indiana Pacers has gotten off well.
Paycom Center has been loud with fans from both teams supporting their sides.
Both sides were looking determined and playing great basketball with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Tyrese Haliburton showing their class with a few big plays.
Haliburton in particular was on fire early in the game as he drained three big three-pointers in the first quarter itself.
OKC Thunder coach Mark Daigneault took a timeout to talk to his team and set the defense as Haliburton seemed poised to have a big night.
Right after the timeout Haliburton suffered an unfortunate injury that led to him being taken off the game.
Haliburton had played Game 6 on a strained right calf, but that did not seem to affect him much.
He dropped 14 points in 23 minutes and played his part in forcing a Game 7.
The 25-year-old was looking set for a big night when he injured his right calf on an offensive possession in the first quarter.
He was in agonising pain and the team circled around him to prevent the cameras from recording.
LeBron James reacted to the injury on X with a tweet.
Other players also sent their love to Haliburton.
Trae Young tweeted: “Never wanna see that.”
Grant Williams also tweeted: “Up for Hali!!! Praying he’s alright.”
Fans also tweeted their thoughts after the Haliburton injury.
His tweet read: “Tyrese Haliburton injury is the gut wrenching part of sports. You give it your all and play through pain just for the most gruesome injury to happen in the biggest game of your life. Awful.”
While another added: “I just put on finals and the first thing i see is Tyrese Haliburton hurt,”
Someone also suggested the league to shorten the season after also pointing out Jayson Tatum’s injury earlier in the playoffs.
While someone also remarked: “Hate to see it. Prayers out to Tyrese Haliburton.”
Another opined: “The pain on John Haliburton seeing his son, Tyrese, go down.”
The Indiana Pacers have the tough task of completing the game without Haliburton.
They ended the first quarter only three points behind and at the time of publishing are leading the game 48-47 at the end of the first half.
Pascal Siakam was seen leading the huddle after Haliburton left and seemed to rally his side to stay in the game.
While losing their star will make the task a little difficult, the franchise is more than capable of getting the job done.
