Watch: TJ McConnell embraced by Pacers legend Reggie Miller as he cries inconsolably after NBA Finals loss

The Indiana Pacers saw a heartbreaking end to their astounding playoff run, falling 103-91 to the OKC Thunder in Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals on Sunday. Emotions ran through the Pacers players as they exited the court, including bench sparkplug T.J. McConnell, who was consoled by Indiana legend Reggie Miller.

In a heartwarming moment, Miller hugged McConnell as he walked to the locker room. With his hands on his head, McConnell was on the verge of crying when Miller hugged and comforted him.

Here's the video:

McConnell took over the lead point guard role after Pacers’ star Tyrese Haliburton tore his Achilles in the first quarter, which turned the game into an emotional affair for Indiana.

McConnell played 28 minutes, sparking a fourth-quarter run that proved to be the Pacers’ last gasp for the title. He finished with 16 points on 8-of-13 shooting, along with six rebounds and three assists. He also had seven turnovers as the Thunder defense zeroed in on him after Haliburton's injury.

The six-foot-one guard has been a reliable piece for the Pacers throughout the playoffs, providing them much-needed offensive help off the bench. With the loss, the Pacers remain without an NBA title since the ABA-NBA merger. Notably, Indiana won an ABA championship.

It was the closest the Pacers got to an NBA title since the 2000 NBA Finals, when the Reggie Miller-led team lost to the LA Lakers, led by Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant, in six games.

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T.J. McConnell reacts to Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton’s Game 7 injury

T.J. McConnell was one of the first players to check in on Tyrese Haliburton when he went down with an apparent Achilles tear in the first quarter of Game 7. H expressed sorrow after seeing one of the team’s leaders fall in such an important game.

“When it happened, a lot of us were shaken up,” McConnell said. (From 1:10). “It’s hard when you have your guy go down like that, and you have to move right away and finish the game, especially when it’s that early."

Haliburton played Game 6 and the start of Game 7 despite a calf strain suffered in Game 5. While he looked good in Game 6, the injury eventually wore him out in the winner-take-all matchup.

McConnell, who was the backup of Haliburton throughout the year, stepped up and delivered everything he could, albeit to no avail.