After Tyrese Haliburton was seen limping during Sunday’s postgame presser, there were major concerns about his health heading into Game 3. Earlier tonight, veteran insider Shams Charania reported that the point guard was dealing with ankle soreness. He even had his right foot taped during pregame shootaround. Naturally, the Pacers were cautious even though Hali confirmed he was fine and ready to go. And those concerns grew when the superstar suffered a fresh injury due to a questionable act by OKC’s Lu Dort.

It happened in the opening minutes of the first quarter. As Dort rose for a potential three pointer, Haliburton closed in to contest his shot. Spotting the approaching defender, the OKC star passed the ball to Shai in the corner. During the landing, Lu smacked Tyrese in the face with a nasty elbow. In a scary sight, the Pacers guard immediately dropped to the floor, covering his face in immense agony. Despite the clear hit, officials did not blow the whistle and let the play continue.

Fortunately, Tyrese was not seriously injured and was able to get back up and stay in the game. But the scary incident had the fans at Gainbridge Fieldhouse worried about their superstar’s health. More so, because he was already not looking a 100% from the start of the game. Per veteran insider Brett Siegel, “Can’t say for certain, but it almost looks like Tyrese Haliburton has a hitch in his step and has been slightly cautious when dribbling to his right.”

Yes, Hali was seemingly bothered by the same right ankle that caused him to limp after Game 2. Moreover, the injury woes reflected in his performance as he struggled in the early stages of the game yet again, finishing with only 5 points and four assists in the opening quarter. This has been the pattern throughout this series. Meanwhile, fans were clearly not pleased with Dort’s antics.

Calls mount against Lu Dort after Tyrese Haliburton incident as NBA World points out officials’ bias

Soon after Dort’s hit took Hali down, calls began mounting against him on social media. Comments like “Dirtiest player in the league” and “Lu Dort is hella dirty” began flooding in, bombarding him with major accusations. Well, Dort is surely an aggressive defender, which makes him one of the best in the league. But him being a dirty player is up for debate.

Apart from criticizing Dort, netizens also called out the officials for not calling a foul on him when he clearly hit Tyrese in the face. One wrote, “That should’ve been a huge foul lmfao” while another said, “And a no call, as usual.” Of course, Pacers fans were frustrated because they believe OKC has been getting way more foul calls in this series, giving them an unfair edge.

As expected, they pointed out the officials’ bias by predicting what would have happened if it was Shai who got hit instead of Haliburton. “If that was SGA, would’ve been a flagrant 2 ejected but hey only one team out there” one wrote, while another had a sarcastic approach to the situation, “Foul on Haliburton for allowing the elbow to hit him. Shai will be shooting 4 free throws after these 47 commercials.”

Well, Shai has been accused on being a ‘free throw merchant’ throughout these playoffs. And it doesn’t help that on the other end, Haliburton is not getting calls even when he is getting hit, risking a potential injury. No wonder Pacers fans are frustrated at Dort and the officials. Thoughts?