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Tim BontempsESPN
NEW YORK — Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton left Madison Square Garden using crutches after hurting his left knee in a 119-113 victory for the New York Knicks on Wednesday night.
“He’ll get looked at tomorrow closely,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said, adding that while he hoped it wasn’t anything serious, he assumed Haliburton would be unlikely to play either Friday or Saturday at home against the Atlanta Hawks or Memphis Grizzlies.
“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,” Carlisle said. “But who knows.
“One of the great things about Tyrese is he has been banged up the last year and a half that he’s been with us and he always wants to play. He always wants to play, and it’s something that’s really helped our culture as a team. So we’ll hope for the best. We’re surely not going to put him in harm’s way.”
Haliburton has had an All-Star-level season for the Pacers in his first full year in Indiana. The 6-foot-5 guard had 15 points and 7 assists Wednesday night before exiting the game after an awkward fall on a drive late in the third quarter.
On the play in question, which happened with just over 2 minutes, 30 seconds to go in the third, Haliburton lost his right shoe, but fell awkwardly and hurt both his left knee and elbow on the play.
Indiana was already without starting center Myles Turner, after a case of back spasms flared up on him after Indiana’s pregame meeting and just before the Pacers were going to take the floor.
“We finished our team meeting, and Myles had a spasm, a reaction in his back. It tightened up pretty significantly. Trainers worked on him for awhile, and then he was ruled out,” Carlisle said.
The veteran coach then laughed over the speculation at Turner’s late scratch that a trade had been agreed to with another team.
“He has not been traded,” Carlisle said with a smile. “Believe me, I have no interest in trading Myles Turner.”
