Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton injured his hamstring during Thursday night’s 126-110 loss to the Boston Celtics in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals, and he is now expected to miss the third game on Saturday, according to Shams Charania and Joe Vardon of The Athletic.
Haliburton left Game 2 with just under three minutes remaining in the third quarter and limped to the locker room. Shortly after, the Pacers ruled out their point guard for the remainder of the game due to left hamstring soreness. He finished with 10 points, eight assists and four rebounds in 28 minutes.
Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said after the second game that Haliburton’s hamstring was sore at halftime, but he opted to test it during the third quarter.
“He took a chance and gave it all he could,” Carlisle said. “It wasn’t going well. So the coaches decided he needed to go to the back and get to work.”
The injury appears to have occurred while Haliburton was defending Celtics forward Jayson Tatum. Moving sideways, Haliburton took an awkward step and winced as he stumbled to the side.
The injury is even more concerning for the Pacers given that Haliburton missed 10 games during the regular season with a strained left hamstring, the same one he injured Thursday. After an incredible start to the season, Haliburton’s numbers dropped significantly after returning from injury in late January. Some speculated that he may have returned earlier than usual in an effort to meet the league’s new 65-game threshold for awards consideration.
Pre-injury | 23.6 | 12.5 | 49.7% | 40.3% |
After an injury | 16.8 | 9.3 | 45.5% | 32.4% |
Even with this statistical drop, Haliburton still leads the league in assists per game (10.9) and was named to the All-NBA Third Team on Wednesday, a feat that allows him to receive an additional $41 million on the contract extension he signed last offseason.
The powerhouse of Indiana’s high-octane offense, Haliburton has navigated an up-and-down playoff run, averaging 18.7 points, 8.2 assists and 4.8 rebounds in 2016 shooting 49/38/85. His scoring has been a bit of an indicator for the Pacers, as he has averaged 21 points in wins compared to 16 points in losses.
With Haliburton expected to miss Game 3, the point guard duties will likely be split between starting shooting guard Andrew Nembhard and backup TJ McConnell. Before Thursday’s loss, Nembhard was plus-23 in the playoffs and McConnell was minus-five, while Haliburton was plus-59. Needless to say, the Pacers will need their floor leader if they want to have any chance of winning four of the next five games against the powerful Celtics.
News Source : www.cbssports.com
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