Tyrese Haliburton was carried off the court in a heartbreaking scene Monday.
The Pacers star slipped while driving in the lane during the second quarter of a 133-131 overtime win over the Celtics, causing his right foot to slide out from under him and land with a split.
Haliburton rolled grimacing and was able to grab his left leg and stand up, but struggled to do anything else as teammates James Johnson and Buddy Field carried him off the court. .
Other Pacers teammates put a towel over his head to hide his reaction.
He is scheduled to undergo an MRI scan on Tuesday.
“That was a very depressing moment,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. “(But) this was an important game. Every game we play has the potential to be a season-defining game.”
In addition to the injury, Haliburton was also asked to travel during the game.
At the end of the first half, the Pacers announced that he would not return to the game due to a left hamstring strain, and he finished the night with seven points and six assists in 13 minutes.
Still, the team was able to rally thanks to Benedict Mathurin's 26 points, including two game-winning free throws with 0.6 seconds left.
“It was a really great effort by our team,” Carlisle said. “There were a lot of emotions going into this game for a lot of reasons: we're playing the best team in basketball, and the injury situation with Tyrese.”
If Haliburton is sidelined for an extended period of time due to injury, that could be a big problem for Indianapolis.
The 23-year-old leads the Pacers with 24.2 points per game, has started 32 games and leads the NBA with 12.7 assists per game.
He played a key role in Indianapolis reaching the inaugural season tournament finals and is the top prospect among Eastern Conference guards in the All-Star fan vote.
