Despite suffering a serious injury, Tyrese Haliburton waited for his Pacers teammates and greeted them as the dejected team walked off the court following its Game 7 loss to the Thunder in the NBA Finals.
Haliburton played in seven minutes of the game before he suffered an Achilles injury, but was there for his team, high-fiving them as they entered the locker room while he stood with the help of crutches on Sunday night.
Former Pacers great Reggie Miller shared an emotional moment with T.J. McConnell after the game as well, trying to comfort the heartbroken player.
McConnell looked to be near tears as he entered the back of the arena and Miller embraced him in a hug to console McConnell after the 103-91 loss.
Miller also stopped Bennedict Mathurin as he was walking by to hug him.
McConnell was also captured by ESPN cameras being consoled by his mother as he was entering the tunnel toward the locker rooms.
The Pacers came up just short of the franchise’s first NBA title, but finished their 2024-25 season with a number of accomplishments under its belt.
This year’s team became the first 50-win Pacers’ squad since 2014 and it was the organization’s first trip to the NBA Finals since 2000.
“No moral victories, obviously. Deflated, but proud of everything we’ve accomplished. There’s no award for second place so everyone is upset but hats off to OKC — they were the better team today,” McConnell told reporters after the game.
While the heartbreak was palpable for the Pacers, it didn’t stop head coach Rick Carlisle from going over to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to congratulate him.
Video captured showed the moment that Gilgeous-Alexander was walking through the back of the arena with the Larry O’Brien Trophy when Carlisle stopped him to dap him up and congratulate the Thunder star on his championship.
The championship is the first for the Thunder since they relocated to Oklahoma City in 2008.
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