Los Angeles (AFP) – The Indiana Pacers managed to recover this Monday from the injury suffered by their star point guard Tyrese Haliburton and beat the Boston Celtics 133-131 in the NBA.
First modification: 01/09/2024 – 04:57
2 min
Haliburton, one of the league’s brightest stars, was carried off the court by his teammates after a painful fall near the end of the second quarter at Gainbridge Fieldhouse Arena in Indiana.
The Pacers later said that Haliburton, 23, who did not return to the court, had suffered a strained left hamstring.
With Haliburton sidelined, Bennedict Mathurin carried the team with 26 points off the bench to lead the second-half comeback. Indiana went into halftime down 68-59.
A frantic finish appeared to have cleared Boston’s path after the Pacers fouled Jaylen Brown in the final seconds with the score tied 131-131.
But Indiana challenged the call and the foul was overturned to level the score and give the Pacers one last chance to win.
Boston’s Kristaps Porzingis then fouled Mathurin with one second left and the Pacers guard made both free throws to secure the win.
“We lost the best player on the team, so my role was to step up and help the team win the game,” Mathurin said. “Ty (Haliburton) was down, but it seemed like the team knew what to do. Everyone had to step up. If your name is called, get ready to play,” added the Canadian.
“We have a lot of players who can play, perform and have an impact on the game. It was a big win for us.”
The Pacers’ bench combined for 75 total points, and the starters finished with 58.
Boston’s offense was led by Brown with 40 points, while Jrue Holiday finished with 21 and Porzingis 19.
Despite the loss, Boston remains atop the Eastern Conference with a 28-8 record, while fifth-place Indiana improved to 21-15.
Pacers coach Rick Carlisle praised his team’s response to Haliburton’s injury and added that Haliburton will undergo an MRI on Tuesday.
“Really amazing effort by our team,” Carlisle said. “There are a lot of emotions in this game. We hope it’s not serious. Tomorrow he will have an MRI.”
In other games on Monday, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren led the Oklahoma City Thunder in a 136-128 victory over the Washington Wizards.
Jordan Poole scored 24 points for Washington, but the Wizards were ultimately dominated by the young Thunder team.
Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 32 points, while Chet Holmgren added 31, including four of five three-pointers.
In Miami, Tyler Herro scored 28 points and Bam Adebayo 22 in the Heat’s 120-113 victory over the Houston Rockets.
In Charlotte, Terry Rozier scored 39 points but it was not enough to prevent the Hornets from falling 119-112 to the Chicago Bulls. Coby White led the Bulls with 27 points.
© 2024 AFP
2024-01-09 09:58:57
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