Tyrese Haliburton's dad John Haliburton anguished after Pacers star goes down in brutal end to heroic NBA season

Tyrese Haliburton crumpled to the floor in the first quarter of Game 7 in the NBA Finals on Sunday. The Indiana Pacers star ruptured his right Achilles after attempting to drive past Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. After spending several minutes on the floor, Haliburton exited with help from teammates and the training staff.

As the point guard leaned heavily on teammate James Johnson, the camera caught the reaction of John Haliburton, Tyrese’s father.

The devastated elder Haliburton could only cover his eyes as the video of the play that led to the injury came on the big screen. Tyrese’s ankle clearly popped just as he drove against the NBA MVP. The Pacers’ franchise cornerstone could be seen writhing in pain and repeatedly saying, “No!”

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The Achilles tear ended a heroic season for Tyrese Haliburton, who first injured his calf in Game 2. Haliburton re-aggravated the same injury in the first quarter of Game 5. Despite being barely able to walk, Haliburton told reporters that he would play. Following an MRI, the Pacers announced their floor general would play in Game 6 despite a calf strain.

Haliburton seemed hardly affected by the calf injury on Thursday. He led the Pacers to a 108-91 in Indiana to force Game 7. Having to play through the calf strain did not end well for the point guard and the Pacers. He eventually tore his Achilles on Sunday.

The Pacers trailed 18-16 when Tyrese Haliburton suffered the injury. He exited early with nine points and one turnover. Haliburton shot well, making 3 of 5 shots, including 3 of 4 from deep before the season-ending play happened.

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Fans react to John Haliburton’s devastated look following Tyrese Haliburton’s injury

The clip of John Haliburton covering his eyes when a video of Tyrese Haliburton’s injury came on the screen went viral. Fans promptly reacted to his devastated look.

One fan said:

Another fan added:

One more fan continued:

"All wear #0"

Another fan reacted:

The Haliburton family went to the Pacers’ locker room to attend to Tyrese. The elder Haliburton confirmed to Lisa Salters of ESPN that his son ruptured his right Achilles in the first quarter.

Without the star point guard, the Indiana Pacers kept fighting. They held a 48-47 lead at halftime after Andrew Nembhard drained a 25-footer.

Edited by Michael Macasero