Indiana Pacers All-Star Tyrese Haliburton has been listed as questionable to play in Game 3 of the team’s Eastern Conference finals against the Boston Celtics on Saturday because of a sore left hamstring.
Haliburton scored 10 points and played just eight minutes in the second half before leaving Thursday’s 126-110 loss to Indiana in Game 2 because of a sore hamstring. He sat out the entire fourth quarter.
Haliburton also suffered a chest injury that Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said occurred during a first-half collision with Boston’s Jaylen Brown.
Meanwhile, the Celtics’ injury report released Friday lists center Kristaps Porzingis (right soleus strain) as out and Luke Kornet (left wrist sprain) as questionable.
Porzingis — out since suffering a calf injury in Game 4 against the Miami Heat on April 30 — could return for these Eastern Conference playoffs as soon as Game 4 on Monday, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Tuesday. The Celtics won’t rush Porzingis back and want to remain conservative in his recovery, but sources say he’s getting close to a return.
Haliburton’s injury is a recurrence of a left hamstring strain he suffered against the Celtics on Jan. 8, when he slipped and had to be helped off the court. The Pacers were 6-4 during that stretch.
“He was hurting at halftime,” Carlisle said of Haliburton’s hamstring after Thursday’s game. “He was having to practice nonstop through halftime. He came on the field, he tried his hardest and gave as much effort as he could. I haven’t talked to him about it directly, so I can’t read his thoughts, but it wasn’t going well. The trainers decided he needed to be brought back on the field to work on it, and then he was taken out.”
The Celtics will need two more wins to reach their second NBA Finals in three years, with the next two games played in Indianapolis, where the Pacers are 6-0 this postseason.
ESPN’s Jamal Collier and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
