Pacers battle through Haliburton injury to sink Celtics

LOS ANGELES – The Indiana Pacers overcame a scary injury to star point guard Tyrese Haliburton before beating the in-form Boston Celtics, 133-131, on Monday (Tuesday Manila time) in the NBA.

Haliburton, one of the brightest stars in the league, was carried off the court by teammates after a painful tumble near the end of the second quarter at Indiana's Gainbridge Fieldhouse Arena.

The 23-year-old grimaced after inadvertently doing the splits as he attempted to change direction while driving towards the basket.

Tyrese Haliburton had to be carried to the locker room after doing the splits on a fall ????

Hope he's okay ???? pic.twitter.com/Z2REIkW6eh

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 9, 2024

The Pacers later said Haliburton, who did not return to the game, had suffered a left hamstring strain.

With Haliburton out of action, Bennedict Mathurin stepped up with 26 points off the bench to lead the second-half fightback after Indiana trailed 68-59 at the break.

A frantic finale looked to have tilted Boston's way after the Pacers were adjudged to have fouled Jaylen Brown in the closing seconds with the score locked at 131-131.

But Indiana challenged the call and the foul was overturned to leave the score level and give the Pacers one last chance to snatch the win.

Boston's Kristaps Porzingis then fouled Mathurin with one second on the clock and the Pacers shooting guard promptly sank two free throws to secure the victory.

"We lost the best player on the team, so my role was to step up and help the team win the game," Mathurin said afterwards.

"Ty (Haliburton) was down but it felt like the team pretty much knew what to do. Everyone had to step up. If your name gets called, be ready to play," the Canadian added.

"We have a lot of depth on this team. We have a lot of players who can play and perform and have an impact on the game. It was a great win for us."

The Pacers bench combined for 75 points overall, with the starters finishing with 58.

Boston's scoring was led by Brown with 40 points, while Jrue Holiday finished with 21 and Porzingis 19.

Boston remain top of the Eastern Conference standings at 28-8 while fifth-placed Indiana improved to 21-15.

Pacers coach Rick Carlisle meanwhile hailed his team's response to Haliburton's injury, adding that the star would undergo an MRI on Tuesday.

"Really amazing effort from our team," Carlisle said. "Lot of emotions in this game. We hope it isn't serious. He's getting an MRI tomorrow."

In other games on Monday, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren both impressed as the Oklahoma City Thunder downed the Washington Wizards, 136-128.

Jordan Poole scored 24 points for Washington but the Wizards were ultimately overpowered by the youthful Thunder line-up. Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 32 points while Chet Holmgren weighed in with 31 points, including four of five shooting from 3-point distance.

In Miami, Tyler Herro scored 28 points and Bam Adebayo 22 as the Heat edged past the Houston Rockets 120-113.

In Charlotte, Terry Rozier scored 39 points but it was not enough to prevent the Hornets falling 119-112 to the Chicago Bulls. Coby White led the Bulls scoring with 27 points.