INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana Pacers fans arrived at Gainbridge Fieldhouse ready to celebrate their first NBA title.
Seven minutes into the game came the hush.
As star point guard in Oklahoma City on Sunday night with what his father, John, later called an Achilles tendon injury, fans gasped as the replay was shown and they saw the anguished look on John Haliburton’s face.
The moment may go down as another cruel chapter in the franchise’s long, painful history.
“Absolutely not what we wanted to see but you know what he’s going to want. He’s going to want this team to continue to fight,” Chris Denari, the Pacers’ television play-by-play announcer, said to tempered cheers. “He is the leader of this team. We know what he’s meant since he arrived from Sacramento and he’s going to need all of our thoughts and prayers, but he is going to want this team to fight and win an NBA title.”
The Pacers didn’t stay down long.
As the Pacers fought through the loss of Haliburton, the near-sellout crowd had raucous reactions to each Pacers 3-pointer, Thunder foul or turnover.
It is Indiana, after all.
But these fans are also plenty familiar with what happened Sunday.
Since the ABA powerhouse joined the NBA in 1976-77, it has endured : the 1977 telethon that saved the team, the Malice in the Palace that cost Reggie Miller his last title shot, the near-misses against LeBron James more than a decade ago and last year’s Eastern Conference finals sweep as the injured Haliburton watched the last two games from the bench.
There’s also the injury legacy. Danny Granger, Paul George and Victor Oladipo all appeared to be ascending when their careers were derailed by injuries, and now the fear is Haliburton could join that list.
How painful has it been to be a Pacers fan? Just ask 27-year-old Anthony Brehob, who came dressed in a No. 55 Roy Hibbert jersey and had big expectations before tip-off.
“Heartbreaking,” Brehob said, describing the back-to-back conference finals losses to James and the Heat in 2013 and 2014. “I’m expecting a close game, and I’m really hoping Haliburton pulls it off at the end. If they lose, it’s going to be a long night.”
The Pacers’ effort brought the crowd back into it. Indiana fought through Haliburton’s injury, rekindling thoughts of another comeback story from the state that produced “Hoosiers.”
Pregame lines snaked around the arena for more than an hour and with the roaring crowd and familiar soundtracks, it was hard to tell if the first Game 7 in an NBA Finals since 2016 was being played in Indy — or nearly 800 miles away in Oklahoma City.
“This is like triple what it was, and they won it that year,” 53-year-old Rick McNeely said after making the journey from Dayton, Ohio, to Indy, comparing this trip to the one he made to Chicago when Michael Jordan won his last title. “I think it’s because this is Indiana.”
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