Here's what Tyrese Haliburton said about returning from injury

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Pacers All-NBA guard Tyrese Haliburton missed both Games 3 and 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals loss to the Celtics after he injured his hamstring in Game 2. However, that was not necessarily his choice.

The day after Game 2 he said he could barely walk. But by the morning of Game 3, he felt like he could play.

“I feel good,” Haliburton told his agents on a phone call. “I’m not going to lie to guys. I really don’t care what you say, I’m going to try to play.”

He said there was an organization wide meeting with his agents and the front office, and they did not allow him to play in Game 3. He said their job is to protect him from himself, and he is thankful that they helped him with that.

“It’s definitely been frustrating but it is what it is,” Haliburton said.

He exited Game 2 with 3:44 left in the third quarter. But his injury didn’t happen then. He said the injury happened in the second quarter when he was guarding Al Horford. He got a lot of treatment at halftime to get ready for the second half and even missed the halftime meeting. But his hamstring was still bothering him in the second half.

“I knew when coach took me out in the third quarter that it was probably done,” Haliburton said.

Haliburton did make it clear that this is a new injury, not just a reaggravation of the hamstring injury he had in the regular season. It is to the same hamstring, but in a different spot. He also said that he was never really 100% from the first hamstring injury.

Halliburton averaged 18.7 points per game in the playoffs, the first postseason he played in. He also named to the All-NBA 3rd Team and was selected as an al-star for the second time of his career this season.