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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowIn the hours and days following Indiana’s loss in Game 7 of the NBA Finals, several Pacers told reporters or posted on social media how sorry they were that they couldn’t bring a championship home to the city and the state.
“We wanted to do it for Indy,” an emotional Pascal Siakam said in the post-game press conference. “We wanted more than anything—just for the city, for the state, because they deserve it. These guys sleep, breathe basketball. …
“I hope you guys can see that we fought hard,” he went on. “We’re sorry we didn’t get it done.”
No apology is necessary.
This scrappy, humble, exciting Pacers team defied expectations and took the city of Indianapolis on an amazing run—all the way to Game 7 of the finals. Along the way, there were unbelievable comebacks and incredible last-minute heroics. And although point guard Tyrese Haliburton was repeatedly the man who put the ball in the basket to win the game or force overtime, he was far from the lone architect of the Pacers’ memorable season and playoff run.
The Pacers’ “superpower is their depth,” The Indianapolis Star’s Matthew Glenesk wrote during the playoffs.
Consider that the Pacers are the first team in NBA history with eight players to score at least 200 points in a playoff run: Siakam, Haliburton, Myles Turner, Aaron Nesmith, Andrew Nembhard, Bennedict Mathurin, Obi Toppin and T.J. McConnell.
And yet after Game 7, McConnell—red-faced from crying after the loss—apologized “for coming up short.”
This from a player who consistently provided an off-the-bench spark for the Pacers and who scored 16 points in the final game, including 12 in the second half when much of the team had gone cold. The backup point guard’s role in the game had suddenly expanded, the result of a devastating injury Haliburton suffered in the first half that ended not only his 2024-2025 season but likely his 2025-2026 season, as well.
Haliburton had put his body on the line—maybe even his career on the line—when he played in Games 6 and 7 despite initially injuring his calf in Game 5. Haliburton had been warned that he was risking further injury, but he was determined to play—to fulfill his own dreams and that of his teammates and fans.
Haliburton went down in the first quarter after tearing his right Achilles, an injury that left him splayed on the court, pounding the floor in frustration. He has already undergone surgery and is likely facing 10 to 12 months of recovery.
“I don’t regret it. I’d do it again, and again after that, to fight for this city and my brothers, for the chance to do something special,” Haliburton posted on social media.
And then he apologized.
“Indy, I’m sorry,” he wrote. “If any fan base doesn’t deserve this, it’s y’all. But together we are going to fight like hell to get back to this very spot and get over this hurdle.”
No need to apologize, Tyrese. Thanks for the ride, and we can’t wait to see you back on the court.•
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