Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton out for Game 3, doubtful for Game 4 due to hamstring strain: sources

INDIANAPOLIS — Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton will not play in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals on Saturday and his availability is uncertain for Game 4, league sources said, due to a new injury to his left hamstring he suffered in Thursday’s loss to the Boston Celtics.

Haliburton underwent an MRI on Saturday which showed strain and he is being monitored day to day. A league source said he felt better than Thursday and hoped to play Saturday, but doctors called to keep him out of Game 3. Haliburton suffered a similar injury to the same leg in January and missed 10 games.

Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton is expected to miss Game 3 tonight against Boston with a re-injured left hamstring, sources tell me and @joevardon. pic.twitter.com/sT4ibVl4zA

– Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) May 25, 2024

The Celtics lead the series, 2-0. Indiana blew a late lead in Game 1, but was soundly beaten in Game 2 after Haliburton was eliminated for good late in the third quarter. He left with 10 points and eight assists in 28 minutes, and a sore chest. Boston’s Jaylen Brown hit him while trying to get a rebound in the first half of Game 2, leading to Haliburton having an image on his chest at halftime.

Haliburton, a third-team All-NBA selection this year, averaged 18.7 points and 8.2 assists in the playoffs. The Pacers went 6-4 without him during that stretch in January, but the playoffs, and especially the mighty Celtics, are a whole different beast.

Indiana can’t afford to lose on Saturday, as no NBA team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit in a playoff series.

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(Photo: Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)