Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton had to leave Game 2 due to a recurrent hamstring injury

Unfortunately for the Pacers, Tyrese Haliburton had to leave Game 2 in the third quarter due to an injury in his left hamstring. The team expected him to make his way back to the court as they trailed behind Boston, but he did not return as his leg was sore.

His coach Rick Carlisle explained how their superstar had aggravated an injury he had endured earlier in the campaign, and that the team will evaluate his condition this Friday. The Indiana medical staff hope he will be back for Game 3 and 4, as the series head to Indianapolis.

“He was sore at halftime,” the tactician said after the game. “He was getting work done for the entirety of halftime. He came out, gave it a shot and all the effort that he could. I haven’t talked about it directly to him, so I can’t read minds, but it wasn’t going well. The trainers determined he had to be brought to the back to be worked on, and then he was ruled out.”

This is the play in the 3rd quarter where Tyrese Haliburton appeared to suffer a leg injury.

He left the game and was ruled OUT for the remainder of Game 2 vs. the Celtics 🙏🏽pic.twitter.com/7jbacfe7Nl

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) May 24, 2024

His teammate Pascal Siakam lamented the fact that his point guard fell to the same injury that kept him out of 10 matches back in January. “We need Ty, but ‘next man’ mentality,” said the center, who scored 28 last night. “We’ve got to play together. This team got where we’re at by playing together. … It’s on us to continue.”

Back on January 8, also against the Boston, he slipped and fell and had to be helped off the court. During that stretch without their main star, Indiana went 6-4.

His teammates believe they should take a bigger role in his absence. “That’s a time for this group for everyone to step up and take a bigger role,” said guard T.J. McConnell. “We’ve done a good job of that when he’s been out. It hurts when he goes down, but one of those things where it’s the ‘next man up’ mentality. Obviously, we’ll see. We haven’t heard anything yet, but guys will just have to step up and be ready.”

Rival Jaylen Brown was snubbed off All-NBA teams, while Haliburton earned a place in the third squad

Tyrese not only posted 25 points and 10 assists in Game 1, he was also named to the All-NBA third team this week. On the other side of the floor, Jaylen Brown wasn’t taken into consideration into the honorary end-of-season squads this time, but instead dominated Game 2 of this Eastern Conference Finals clash.

His coach Joe Mazzulla believed his star used this snub as extra motivation. “I think he cares about it in a way that motivates him, and I think he doesn’t really care about it at all,” said the tactician after his pupil’s 40-point display. “He understands that winning is the most important thing. He just cares about the right stuff.”

Now that Haliburton might be out of action during the upcoming games in Indianapolis, his teammates explained his importance to the Pacers cause.”He does so many things for our team. Where I think everyone has to move the ball more and get in the paint more.

The ball movement just has to be on another level. He gets 10 assists in his sleep, so it’s hard for another person on our team to replicate that. It’s a group effort when he goes down to get the ball and get it moving,” McConnell insisted.