Injuries at front of conversation for Pacers-Knicks before Game 4
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Injuries were one of the main topics of conversation heading into the Pacers-Knicks series. Tyrese Haliburton hurt his back and has been questionable heading into games so far in the series against the Knicks.
Then, he got hurt multiple times in Game 3 on Friday night. He hurt his tailbone and his ankle, both in the fourth quarter. He limped down the steps to the podium for the postgame press conference, using the rail as guidance.
“I’m hurting, but I mean they got guys hurting too,” Haliburton said. “So, we got to understand everybody’s hurting right now. Thank God we got a day in between, and I’m young and I’ll heal up and be ready to go on Sunday.”
Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle is also hopeful that Haliburton is good to go for Sunday.
“He got banged up tonight,” Carlisle said. “The hope is he’s going to be okay for Sunday. I think it’s going to be hard to keep him out of the game.”
The Knicks have also been dealing with injury issues. They lost OG Anunoby to a hamstring strain in the fourth quarter of Game 2. He missed Game 3 and is expected to miss Game 4 as well. Jalen Brunson is hobbled with a sore right foot. Julius Randle is out for the rest of the season, and so are Mitchell Robinson and Bojan Bogdanović.
In Game 3, Haliburton was more aggressive. He was hunting shots, and it was working for the Pacers. He took 26 shots and tallied 35 points, his highest scoring output of the postseason so far. At the postgame press conference, he questioned if that was the most amount of shots he had ever taken. It’s the second most, as he took 28 shots against the Heat in November earlier this season, but regardless, his aggressiveness was clear.
The Pacers are now 4-0 in Gainbridge Fieldhouse so far in the playoffs, and will look to keep that undefeated record in Game 4. They also won their last five home games of the regular season, making their last home loss all the way back on March 18.
“It’s been unbelievable energy,” Haliburton said. “Our fans have just been itching for playoff basketball again, just like us.”
“It’s really cool to see the energy in the building every game,” Haliburton said. “They really willed us to a win tonight (Friday).”
The Knicks lead the series 2-1. Game 4 will tip off at 3:30 p.m. on Mother’s Day Sunday, which Haliburton mentioned at the end of his press conference.
“Everybody’s banged up,” he said. “Everybody’s hurting. Everybody’s going to be amped for that game. It’s Mother’s Day. All of our moms are going to be there. Everybody’s going to be ready to go.”