Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton carried off after awkward fall, splits in win over Celtics
Haliburton has averaged a career-high 24.2 points and 12.7 assists per game this season with the Pacers
Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton had to be carried off the court with a towel draped over his head after he slipped awkwardly on the court Monday night.
Haliburton drove to the rim in the second quarter of his team's 133-131 win over the Boston Celtics at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. As he got to the block, Haliburton’s leg slipped out from underneath him, and he slid down to the court while doing the splits.
He immediately rolled over and started grabbing at his left leg, clearly in a lot of pain. He didn’t put any weight on his leg in the process as he was taken to the locker room.
Tyrese Haliburton goes down and is carried back to the locker room pic.twitter.com/1upm4HlhFg
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) January 9, 2024
At halftime, the Pacers ruled Haliburton out the rest of the way and called his injury a left hamstring strain. Further specifics on the injury or how long it might sideline him are not yet known, though he is set to undergo an MRI on Tuesday. Haliburton had seven points and six assists when he left the game.
Haliburton is having a career campaign with the Pacers this season. The former Iowa State star has averaged a career-high 24.2 points and a league-high 12.7 assists this season. He led the Pacers to the championship game of the NBA’s inaugural in-season tournament in Las Vegas earlier this season, though they fell to the Los Angeles Lakers in the title game.
The Pacers entered Monday's game with a 20-15 record. They fell 118-101 to the Celtics in their previous game on Saturday.
The Celtics held a nine-point lead at halftime, though the Pacers out-scored them by 11 points in the third without Haliburton to retake the lead. The Pacers then had a chance to win the game at the buzzer, after a foul call on Buddy Hield was overturned on the other end, but Bennedict Mathurin’s shot was off the mark.
A second review, however, determined that Mathurin was actually fouled by Kristaps Porzingis on his final shot behind the arc. That sent him to the free throw line for three shots, where he made two of them and pushed the Pacers to the two-point win.
Chaos pic.twitter.com/H7BIyBMSPi
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) January 9, 2024
Mathurin led the Pacers with 26 points off the bench, and shot 5-of-9 from behind the arc. Aaron Nesmith dropped 17 points, and Myles Turner added 16 points and eight rebounds.
Jaylen Brown led the Celtics with 40 points after he shot 17-of-26 from the field. Jrue Holiday added 21 points, and Porzingis finished with 19 points, seven assists and six rebounds.
