Tyrese Haliburton down! I repeat, Tyrese Haliburton down! Heading into the biggest game of his young career, the Pacers superstar looked confident. “Calf’s good. I’m ready to go.” He told ESPN’s Malika Andrews, unbothered by his injury woes. That confidence immediately translated to the court, as Tyrese scored 9 quick points to start the game, with three deep range shots, sucking the life out of Paycom Center. But soon, tragedy struck.

It happened midway through the opening quarter. In an attempt to get past Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Haliburton seemingly lost his footing and fell hard on the floor. He immediately began grimacing in pain while Thunder finished the fastbreak on the other end. Replay revealed that Haliburton popped something in his right ankle during the play, which looked eerily similar to Kevin Durant’s Achilles tear in the 2019 Finals. It was clear that Haliburton was hurt. And hurt bad.

His father John Haliburton, who was sitting in the stands, struggled to hold back tears as Tyrese got carried to the locker room by Pacers staff. Witnessing the horrific incident, even LeBron James was left in disbelief as he tweeted, “F—!!!!!!!!” with a facepalm and prayer emoji.

Well, Haliburton had been dealing with a right calf strain throughout this series, and had undergone constant treatment to play through it. His injury got reaggravated in Game 5 when he took a nasty fall, coincidentally very similar to tonight, while dribbling past Chet Holmgren. The way Hali reacted and was unable to walk off the floor on his own, it seems unlikely that he will return tonight.

Surprisingly, this is something ESPN veteran Bob Myers had been fearing for quite some time, as he said after Game 5, “When you have a calf tightness, you gotta be careful. Perk you know, the next thing that happens.” Sure enough, he was hinting at the risk of a major calf or Achilles injury, which could now be the case for Haliburton. But Pacers have no time to ponder on this tragedy because they still have unfinished business on the floor.

Myles Turner and Pascal Siakam send strong message to Pacers locker room after Tyrese Haliburton injury

Losing their biggest star early in the biggest game of their career was not how the Indiana team expected to start their night. But now is not the time to give up. Following Haliburton’s unfortunate injury, veterans Pascal Siakam and Myles Turner took on the leadership role and reminded their teammates about their ultimate goal.

“It’s a heartbreak man. It’s unfortunate. Biggest game of the year, man. Injury didn’t hold up on him. But, you know, we got his back. And that’s what it’s about. Next man up mentality. Keep it in your mind. Keep it in your heart, and go win for him.” Turner remarked, hoping to not let Tyrese’s injury go in vain and finishing the job on his behalf to lead the Pacers to their first title.

Even Siakam was seen trying to rally his guys and urging them to play their natural game. “We’re still in this. Still got a job to do.” He remarked, sending a strong message to his teammates. With Tyrese out, TJ McConnell will take on the floor general duty. He has been amazing in this series so far, with consistently dominant performances off the bench. And tonight, fate has given him an opportunity to solidify himself as a Pacers legend. Do you think Pacers can bounce back from this tragic incident and win it for themselves and Haliburton?