VIDEO: Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton had to be carried off court after landing on a split

It was the second quarter of an intense clash between the Pacers and Celtics, and Tyrese Haliburton drove the ball towards the rim before slipping on the way there, landing on a painful split. After this incident, the player wasn’t able to get on his feet again and needed his teammates to pick him up from the floor and carry him to their locker room. 

After this, we were left in suspense to see what happened to the Indiana guard, but are only left with the images of him rolling over on the paint while grabbing his left leg in agony. His teammates even draped a towel over his head to hide his reaction.

“We hope that it’s not serious. We’ll know more tomorrow,” coach Rick Carlisle told reporters, as he’s scheduled for an MRI exam on Tuesday. In the video below, take a look at the scenes in last night’s NBA match in Indianapolis:

Incredibly enough, the Pacers we able to compete without their main man and ended the match with an overtime 133-131 victory. “That was a very deflating moment,” Carlisle claimed. “(But) this was an important game. Every game that we play has the ability to be a season-defining game.”

Haliburton, who was also called for a travel on the play, would not return to the game with a left hamstring strain, and managed to drop 7 points and hand out 6 assists in 13 minutes of play.

The team was led by Bennedict Mathurin and his significant 26 points, including a pair of free throws that decided the contest with 0.6 seconds left on the clock.

“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.”

Tyrese’s potential injury could be a nightmare for the Indiana franchise, as he’s been a revelation this campaign and certainly headed for an All-Star selection. The 23-year-old has been leading his squad in scoring at 24.2 points per game, and also tops the league with 12.7 assists per match.

Jaylen Brown insists the NBA should investigate the last plays of the game which lead the Pacers to victory

With seconds left to the contest and the score tied, Jaylen Brown attempted a two-point jumper but was slightly hit by rival Buddy Hield and missed the shot. The officials let the game play and immediately after Kristaps Porizingis fouled Mathurin on a three-point attempt, of which he sunk two free throws to take home the win.

Brown didn’t hide his frustration. “I think he obviously hit me in the head,” the Boston guard told the press. “I think they definitely need to do some investigation, that’s all I’m going to say. I think that was an obvious one. I’ve never heard of ‘head (is) part of the ball.’ It doesn’t make any sense to me.”

The Pacers were whistled for a foul on Jaylen Brown's game-winning shot attempt.

After a challenge, the call was overturned.

Good call or bad call? 🤔pic.twitter.com/7rXaxWfHm5

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) January 9, 2024

Jaylen revealed he even asked referee James Williams about the play. “I went up and asked, like, ‘Did I get hit in the head?’ He looks me straight in the face and he says, ‘No, you didn’t get hit in the head.’ And I’m like, ‘OK,’” the star said.

“Then you come down on the other end, like, that cost our team the game. Then you expect us not to be frustrated. We’re trying to build good habits. We’re trying to win as many games as possible, and we just dropped one because of that,” he concluded.