INDIANAPOLIS — The Pacers are in a must-win scenario against the Celtics entering Game 4 on Monday night but they may be without their All-Star guard again with their season on the line. Indiana announced Sunday afternoon that Haliburton remains questionable for Game 4 with a hamstring injury that also sidelined him in Game 3. Benedict Mathurin (shoulder) also remains out for Indiana.
Haliburton initially suffered his injury in Game 2 of the Pacers’ loss in Boston during the third quarter. Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com reported on Saturday that the Pacers would be cautious with the point guard’s injury, particularly since he’s been dealing with some variation of the ailment for large chunks of this season. He missed 10 games earlier in the year with the injury.
Indiana put up an admirable fight in Game 3 without Haliburton, starting rookie guard Ben Sheppard in his place. They got a career game from Andrew Nembhard in Game 3 as he handled point guard duties along with TJ McConnell for the majority of the 48 minutes. The Pacers will need more from the 3-point arc (5-of-22) along with more help from their supporting cast to keep up with Boston’s firepower in Game 4.
Fanatics Sportsbook
10X$100 BONUS BET
BET MATCH BONUS
Must be 21+. GAMBLING PROBLEM? Call 1-800-GAMBLER (CO, KY ,MD, OH, PA, TN, VA, VT, WV); (888) 789-7777 or ccpg.org (CT); 1-800-BETS-OFF (IA); (800) 327-5050 or gamblinghelpline.org (MA), mdgamblinghelp.org (MD), 1800gambler.net (WV)
The Celtics will be shorthanded yet again for the matchup with Kristaps Porzingis (calf) ruled out for the 10th straight game. Jrue Holiday (illness) remains questionable for the matchup while Luke Kornet was upgraded to questionable after sitting out Game 3 with a wrist sprain.
The Pacers dropped to 7-7 in games without Haliuburton during this season with their Game 3 loss. Pacers coach Rick Carlisle vowed his team will give Boston their toughest game of the series in Game 4 despite a pair of heartbreaking losses over the past week.
“We’ve got to look at what’s in front of us,” Carlisle said. “We’ve got the best fans in the NBA here, we’ve got the greatest basketball building on the planet, and we’ve got another game in front of them to go after those guys, and believe me when I tell you we are going after them.”
