Pacers’ Haliburton questionable for Game 3 with sore hamstring

Indiana Pacers All-Star Tyrese Haliburton has been listed as questionable for Sport 3 of the staff’s Japanese Convention finals matchup in opposition to the Boston Celtics on Saturday due to a sore left hamstring.

Haliburton scored 10 factors and performed simply eight minutes within the second half earlier than leaving Indiana’s 126-110 Sport 2 loss Thursday due to the sore hamstring. He sat out the complete fourth quarter.

Haliburton additionally suffered what Pacers coach Rick Carlisle described as a chest damage that occurred throughout a first-half collision with Boston’s Jaylen Brown.

In the meantime, the Celtics’ damage report launched Friday listed middle Kristaps Porzingis (proper soleus pressure) as out and Luke Kornet (left wrist sprain) as uncertain.

Porzingis — out since struggling the calf damage in Sport 4 in opposition to the Miami Warmth on April 30 — may make his return to those Japanese Convention playoffs as quickly as Sport 4 on Monday, sources instructed ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Tuesday. The Celtics will not rush Porzingis again and wish to proceed to be conservative in his restoration, however sources say he’s inching nearer to a return.

Haliburton’s damage is a recurrence of a left hamstring pressure suffered Jan. 8 in opposition to the Celtics when he slipped and fell and needed to be helped off the courtroom. The Pacers went 6-4 throughout that stretch.

“He was sore at halftime,” Carlisle mentioned of Haliburton’s hamstring after Thursday’s sport. “He was getting work achieved for the whole lot of halftime. He got here out, gave it a shot and all the trouble that he may. I have never talked about it on to him, so I can not learn minds, nevertheless it wasn’t going properly. The trainers decided he needed to be delivered to the again to be labored on, after which he was dominated out.”

The Celtics will want two extra wins to succeed in their second NBA Finals in three years with the subsequent two video games being performed in Indianapolis, the place the Pacers are an ideal 6-0 this postseason.

ESPN’s Jamal Collier and The Related Press contributed to this report.