The Indiana Pacers won 135-131 Wednesday night against the gutted Dallas Mavericks in the Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Indiana was without two-time All-Star Tyrese Haliburton for the second straight game due to a back injury. Due to his absence, three-time All-Star Pascal Siakam led in the scoring department with 29 points on 11-for-16 shooting with three three-pointers made.
Haliburton has missed five of the last eight games due to a hip injury and now the sore back. The former No. 12 pick in the draft out of Iowa State has only missed one other game this entire season, playing in 62 of the team’s 68 total games thus far.
After missing Wednesday night’s game, Indiana released the injury report ahead of its matchup with the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday night.
Due to the sore lower back he’s been dealing with, Haliburton has officially been ruled out by Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle.
The former All-NBA third-team member has had a slightly less productive year than his previous years since being traded from the Sacramento Kings. Haliburton is averaging 18.5 points and 9.0 assists per game on 46.7% shooting; his points are the second-lowest in his Pacers career, and his assists and shooting percentage are the lowest.
Missing the Brooklyn game will mark the second three-game absence for Haliburton this season. The Pacers are hoping this absence streak will be limited to just three games, as they continue to battle with the Milwaukee Bucks for the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference heading into the playoffs. Indiana currently holds a one-game lead for the final spot with home-court advantage in the first round.
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