INDIANAPOLIS — It’s hard to pinpoint which part of Tyrese Haliburton’s body hurts the most.
feet? return? Hamstring?
But clearly there’s nothing wrong with him.
The Pacers star showed what he’s capable of, bouncing back from an offensive funk and leading Indiana back to the Eastern Conference semifinal series.
Haliburton’s 111-106 victory over the Knicks in Friday’s Game 3, and then running hard and limping to the postgame podium, told the story.
“Right now it’s just the whole body,” Halliburton said. “I’m hurting. But there are others who are hurting too. We need to understand that everyone is hurting right now. Thankfully there’s a day in between. I… He’s young, so he’ll heal well and be ready on Sunday.”
Indiana heads into Sunday’s Game 4 matinee at 3:30 p.m. trailing 2-1 in the best-of-seven series. It could easily have been 3-0 without Haliburton, who had 35 points, seven assists and two steals.
“It’s just downhill,” Haliburton said with a shrug. “Be aggressive, be who you are.”
However, Haliburton, who was suffering from back pain, suffered a hard blow to his tailbone with 9 minutes and 25 seconds remaining.
He then had a steal and a layup with 7:42 left, but rolled his ankle avoiding Josh Hart on the finish.
He missed his last three shots and was unable to score again.
Haliburton is officially listed as questionable for Sunday due to a number of issues, including lower back spasms, a sacral contusion (basically a contusion to his back) and a sprained right ankle.
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“He got hit,” Carlisle said. “I hope he’s okay until Sunday. I think it will be difficult to keep him out of the game.”
Indiana needs more than just the NBA assist champion.
We need him to be as aggressive in Game 4 and beyond as he was in Game 3.
Haliburton had the most points and shots (26) since Nov. 30 against Miami, before a hamstring injury became the obvious end to his season.
Since that game on January 8th, the All-Stars have lost all semblance of their former self.
“His aggressiveness is going to be important in every game, whether he’s scoring a lot of points or not,” Carlisle said.
The Pacers need that.
Haliburton took just seven shots in the first-round opener against Milwaukee, but improved going into the series.
Then, after a quiet six-shot night in Game 1 at the Garden, he joined Stephen Curry, James Harden, Damian Lillard, and Donovan Mitchell for consecutive 30-point and six-shot games in the playoffs. He became the only player to record three threes.
“He adapts quickly. For a first-time playoff player, he had to make some pretty significant adjustments,” Carlisle said. “His aggressiveness was very important.”
And that will happen in Game 4 as well.
“[The 26] This number is the best shot I’ve ever shot, or probably ever shot,” Halliburton said. “But whatever it takes to win, that’s how I approach these games right now, especially after a tough first game. How can I impact the game? Some games I score, some games I facilitate, some games it’s both. But whatever I have to do to win, that’s what I want to do.”
