The Indiana Pacers fell short in Game 7, losing 103-91 to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Finals.
Many pointed to Tyrese Haliburton’s early injury for the defeat. Haliburton managed just seven minutes before suffering a serious injury that ended his night.
The Pacers showed resilience despite the setback, leading 48-47 at halftime before OKC’s dominant third quarter sealed their fate.
Speaking after the heartbreaking loss, head coach Rick Carlisle refused to use Tyrese Haliburton’s injury as an excuse.
Instead, he offered high praise for Thunder coach Mark Daigneault and delivered a brutally honest assessment of when OKC likely secured their championship.
“One of the great young coaches in all of professional sports. And his team, the way this season started and everything, they may have had those buses painted up back in December,” Carlisle said.
Carlisle expressed immense pride in his team’s unlikely championship run. Few in the NBA community believed the Pacers could reach the Finals, let alone push the heavily favored Thunder to a decisive Game 7.
“This was a great series. I’m so proud of our players, I’m so proud of our organization. Our fans showed up big time tonight. It was really moving,” Carlisle said.
The Pacers’ journey from playoff longshots to Finals contenders proved their mental toughness and collectiveness throughout the season.
Regarding his star player’s injury, Carlisle couldn’t provide a specific timeline for Haliburton’s return. However, he expressed confidence in the young guard’s ability to bounce back from the setback.
“What happened with Tyrese is just all of our hearts dropped, 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,” Carlisle said.
“I believe he’ll make a full recovery. He authored one of the great individual playoff runs in the history of the NBA with dramatic play after dramatic play.”
The loss denied Carlisle another chance at championship glory, having previously led the underdog Dallas Mavericks to the 2011 title. Despite falling short, his Pacers proved they belonged on basketball’s biggest stage.
