BOSTON — Not only are the Indiana Pacers trailing 0-2 to the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals, but the team is now awaiting word on star guard Tyrese Haliburton. The two-time All-Star left Thursday night’s Game 2 loss in Boston with a hamstring injury, putting his status for the remainder of the series in question.
Haliburton was injured while trying to defend Jayson Tatum with just over six minutes left in the third quarter on Thursday night. He took an awkward step while sliding with the C’s forward and stumbled in pain. He stayed in the game and even took the ball up the court on Indiana’s next possession, but did not return, limping to the locker room with three minutes left in the quarter.
The Pacers released him shortly afterwards. And ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports Haliburton has been dealing with left hamstring pain. This is particularly worrying for the Pacers, as Haliburton missed 10 games during the regular season due to a hamstring problem.
Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle didn’t say much about Haliburton’s status after the game, but said a hamstring issue was bothering his star point guard at halftime.
“He tried and tried his hardest,” Carlisle said. “It wasn’t going well. So the coaches decided he should go back and practice.”
The Pacers are hoping for good news on Friday, as the third game will be played in Indiana on Saturday.
In his 28 minutes in Game 2, Haliburton scored 10 points and dished out eight assists. He proved to be a real thorn in Boston’s side in Game 1, hitting six threes to score 25 points with 10 assists, three rebounds and three steals.
Losing Haliburton at any time would be a huge blow to the Pacers and an even bigger break for the Celtics, who didn’t have to deal with Donovan Mitchell in the final two games of their second-round series win over the Cleveland Cavaliers. If Haliburton is taken out of the lineup, the Pacers will rely heavily on Andrew Nembhard (16 points in Game 2) and TJ McConnell (9 points) to move forward.
But without their star player, the battle will be even tougher, as the Pacers will now have to win four of their next five games against a Celtics team that is determined to win the title this season.
