Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton to have MRI after hamstring strain

Indiana Pacers star guard Tyrese Haliburton left Monday night's 133-131 win over the visiting Boston Celtics in the second quarter because of a strained left hamstring and will undergo an MRI on Tuesday, according to the head coach Rick Carlisle.

Haliburton was heading toward the hoop when he suddenly stopped and slipped, forcing him to do the splits. He immediately grabbed his left thigh and turned around in pain before his teammates were forced to carry him back to the locker room with 3:10 left in the first half.

At halftime, Indiana shut Haliburton out for the rest of the game. He had seven points and six assists in 13 minutes of action before going out.

Carlisle called the injury “a very deflating moment,” adding that the team hopes it is not serious.

Entering the day Monday, Haliburton was averaging a team-high 24.2 points and a league-high 12.7 assists in 32 games (all starts). He is in his third season with Indiana after being acquired from the Sacramento Kings in a February 2022 trade.

Haliburton was a key contributor for the Pacers, helping them advance to the finals of the inaugural tournament of the NBA season. The Pacers currently sit in seventh place in the Eastern Conference.

The Pacers trailed 68-59 at halftime Monday shortly after Haliburton left the game, but came back strong in the third quarter. Bennedict Mathurin fouled while attempting a 3-point shot with less than a second left and the game was tied. He went 2 of 3 from the line to seal the win for Indiana.

“A truly incredible effort from our team,” Carlisle said. “A lot of emotion in this game, for a lot of reasons: you're playing the best team in basketball and Tyrese's injury situation.”

Information from Field Level Media and the Associated Press was used in this article.