The Indiana Pacers have been one of the pleasant surprises so far during the first half of the 2022-23 NBA season, but on Wednesday night, they ended up falling 119-113 on the road against the New York Knicks, the second time this season that they have lost to the Knicks.
To make matters even worse, Pacers star point guard Tyrese Haliburton seemed to get injured in this game, as he checked out of the game in the third quarter with about 2:32 remaining and he did not return to the game in the fourth quarter.
After the game, Haliburton was seen leaving the arena on crutches after hurting his left knee in the game, according to ESPN’s Tim Bontemps.
“He’ll get a close look at tomorrow,” head coach Rick Carlisle said in regards to his young star. “He’s walking out of Madison Square Garden on crutches, so I would guess his availability on Friday will be in question, and probably Saturday, too. But who knows.”
Playing a total of 27 minutes in this game, Haliburton ended up with 15 points, 7 assists and 3 rebounds. On the season, he is now averaging 20.2 points, 10.2 assists and 4.0 rebounds per game while shooting 39.9 percent from three-point range.
Given that he ranks seventh in the league in double-doubles and second in assists per game, Haliburton has a really good shot at making his first All-Star appearance this season.
“One of the great things about Tyrese is that he has been banging up the last year and a half that he’s been with us and he always wants to play,” Carlisle went on to say. “He always wants to play, and it’s something that really helped our culture as a team. So we’ll hope for the best. We’re certainly not going to put him in harm’s way.”
The Pacers are scheduled to play their next game on Friday night in Indianapolis against the Atlanta Hawks, a team that is currently behind them in the Eastern Conference standings.
Further updates on Haliburton’s knee injury will likely be provided by the team sometime Thursday after he gets evaluated by the team’s medical staff in Indiana.
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