Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton injured his hamstring during the team's 126-110 loss to the Boston Celtics in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Thursday night. Haliburton left the game with just under three minutes remaining in the third quarter and limped to the locker room. Shortly thereafter, the Pacers ruled the point guard out for the remainder of the game due to soreness in his left hamstring. Haliburton finished with 10 points, eight assists and four rebounds in 28 minutes of action.
The Pacers are down 2-0 in the series with Game 3 scheduled for Saturday night in Indiana. Haliburton was listed as questionable as of Friday night.
Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said after Game 2 that Haliburton had hamstring soreness at halftime but opted to have him tested during the third quarter.
“He tried his hardest,” Carlisle said, “and it didn't work out, so the trainer decided he needed to move him back down and train.”
The injury appeared to occur while Haliburton was guarding Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, when he took an awkward step while moving sideways, stumbled and grimaced.
The injury is of particular concern to the Pacers because Haliburton missed 10 games during the regular season with the same left hamstring injury he suffered Thursday. After a strong start to the season, Haliburton's production dropped off significantly since returning from the injury in late January. Some have speculated that he may have returned earlier than usual to meet the league's newly imposed 65-game threshold for eligibility for the award.
|
Before injury |
23.6 |
12.5 |
49.7% |
40.3% |
|
After the injury |
16.8 |
9.3 |
45.5% |
32.4% |
Despite his statistical decline, Haliburton still leads the league in assists per game (10.9) and was named to the All-NBA Third Team on Wednesday. Earn an additional $41 million Regarding the contract extension he signed last offseason.
The driving force behind Indiana's high-octane offense, Haliburton has had an up-and-down play in the postseason, averaging 18.7 points, 8.2 assists and 4.8 rebounds while shooting 49/38/85. His scoring has been somewhat of a trailblazer for the Pacers, averaging 21 points in wins and 16 points in losses.
If Haliburton is forced to sit out, the point guard duties will likely be shared between starting shooting guard Andrew Nembard and backup TJ McConnell. Prior to Thursday's loss, Nembard was plus-23 and McConnell was minus-5 in the playoffs, while Haliburton was plus-59. Needless to say, the Pacers will need a floor leader if they want to have a chance to win four of their next five games against the powerhouse Celtics.
