Tyrese Haliburton carried off court in potential Pacers injury nightmare
Tyrese Haliburton was carried off the court on Monday in a painful scene.
The Pacer star slipped while driving through the lane in the second quarter of a 133-131 overtime win over the Celtics, landing in a split as his right leg slid out from under him.
Haliburton rolled over and grabbed at his left leg while grimacing and was able to stand up, but he struggled to do much else as teammates James Johnson and Buddy Field carried him off the court.
Other Pacers teammates draped a towel over his head to hide his reaction.
He is scheduled for an MRI exam on Tuesday.
“That was a very deflating moment,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. “(But) this was an important game. Every game that we play has the ability to be a season-defining game.”
Adding insult to injury, Haliburton was also called for a travel on the play.
At the half, the Pacers announced he would not return to the game with a left hamstring strain, ending his night with seven points and six assists in 13 minutes of action.
Still, the team was able to rally thanks to Bennedict Mathurin’s 26 points — which included a pair of free throws that decided the game with 0.6 seconds left.
“Really amazing effort from our team,” Carlisle said. “A lot of emotions in this game, for a lot of reasons: you’re playing the best team in basketball and Tyrese’s injury situation.”
If the injury caused Haliburton to miss an extended period, it could be a big problem for Indianapolis.
The 23-year-old leads the Pacers in scoring at 24.2 points per game and tops the NBA with 12.7 assists per game over 32 starts.
He was a key component of Indianapolis’ run to the finals of the inaugural in-season tournament and is a leading candidate among Eastern Conference guards in All-Star fan voting.
