Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton will miss Game 4 against the Boston Celtics on Monday night with a hamstring strain.
Head coach Rick Carlisle confirmed his status to reporters before the game.
He will miss his second consecutive game after being sidelined with an injury in Saturday’s Game 3. With Haliburton on the bench, the Celtics rallied from an 18-point deficit to extend their Eastern Conference Finals lead to 3-0. They can close out the series and clinch a spot in the NBA Finals with a win on Monday.
Haliburton’s absence will make an unprecedented task that much more daunting for the Pacers. No team in NBA history has come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a playoff series. The Pacers will try to start a rally with their best player on the bench.
A two-time All-Star, Haliburton was named All-NBA for the first time this season at age 23. He is the catalyst for the league’s highest-scoring offense and has averaged 20.1 points, 10.9 assists and 3.9 rebounds per game this season.
The Pacers thrived in the first half of Game 3 as they took a 69-57 halftime lead as rookie Ben Sheppard took Haliburton’s place in the starting lineup. Andrew Nembhard stepped into the lead role in Indiana’s backcourt in Haliburton’s absence and posted one of the best games of his career with 32 points and nine assists while going 4 of 7 from 3-point range.
But Indiana’s offense sputtered after halftime, scoring 42 points in the second half as the Celtics took control of the game with a 114-111 victory. Indiana will need a better full-game performance on Monday night to avoid being swept.
