Pacers star point guard Tyrese Haliburton did not travel with the team to Oklahoma City on Friday night, where he tore his Achilles tendon in Game 7 of the NBA Finals last season.
The Pacers said there was no formal reason for his absence but said it had been determined some time ago that he would not travel to this game. Haliburton has been with the team for almost every road game this season despite being ruled out for the season with that right Achilles tendon tear he suffered in Game 7.
However, host Taylor Rooks of NBA on Prime said after Prime’s broadcast of the Nuggets’ win over the Bucks that she had been in contact with Haliburton — who has a deal for this season as a contributor on Prime — about his absence. She said he told her “he does not think he is ready to go back there yet. He said, ‘It’s something I still think about for sure.’ He would like the next time that he goes back to be when he can play and get lost in competing and playing the game that he loves rather than staring at that spot on the floor the whole game.”
Presumably, Haliburton was watching back home in Carmel, and the Pacers played in a way that made him proud with a shocking 117-114 win. The Pacers were a 15.5-point underdog. They didn’t operate quite at the speed they usually do when Haliburton’s running the show, but they kept the ball moving, kept everyone involved and closed strong in the fourth quarter as he so often did in the furious comebacks that defined the Pacers’ thrilling Finals run.
Dustin Dopirak covers the Pacers all season. Get more coverage on IndyStarTV and with the Pacers Insider newsletter.
