After a hard-fought NBA Finals, Indiana Pacers fans wanted to show how much they cared about the team. Roughly two dozen Pacers fans showed up at Indianapolis International Airport at 2:30 a.m. to cheer on the team after a Game 7 loss.
Fans cheered for various Pacers players, including Tyrese Haliburton, who was spotted in a wheelchair after reportedly tearing his Achilles. Fans chanted Haliburton’s name as he was wheeled away from the plane.
Two members of the team — James Johnson and Obi Toppin — stopped their car and interacted with fans before leaving the scene. That interaction was captured on video by WTHR in Indianapolis.
Those fans showed up to support a Pacers team that few expected to make it all the way to Game 7 of the NBA Finals. After going 50-32 in the regular season, the Pacers secured the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference. The team then dispatched both the No. 1 seed Cleveland Cavaliers and the No. 3 seed New York Knicks to reach the Finals.
Despite being massive underdogs, the Pacers then pushed the Oklahoma City Thunder to Game 7 in the Finals. The Pacers hung tough with the Thunder through the first half of the contest, and held a one-point lead at halftime before the Thunder pulled away in the second half.
The game’s trajectory may have changed when Haliburton went down. While the Pacers managed to hang in the contest for a bit following Haliburton’s injury, Toppin admitted it played a role in his poor performance.
T.J. McConnell also had a tough time with the loss. ESPN cameras captured an emotional McConnell as he walked into the tunnel. A Pacers staffer told ESPN’s production team to stop filming the Pacers guard after the game.
After such a draining loss, Pacers fans wanted to let the team know it still had plenty of support. That might not be enough to fully wash away the disappointment of losing Game 7, but it was no doubt appreciated by Pacers players.
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