Pacers’ Tyrese Halliburton is on injury notice after leaving the Cavs game

Less than 24 hours after celebrating a signature road win against the dominant Cleveland Cavaliers, Indiana Pacers fans have been hit with potentially troubling news. Tyrese Halliburton is in danger of missing his first game of the season with a strained left hamstring. It is listed as suspicious for Tuesday night’s home opener against the Cavs, per Scott Agnessa of the Fieldhouse Files.

Halliburton walked away with a 108-93 victory over the Pacers in Cleveland, scored two points on 1-of-5 shooting in just 19 minutes of action. Andrew Nembhardt stepped up in his absence and dropped a game-high 19 points with four assists and two steals. Myles Turner had a double-double and Thomas Bryant added 11 points on a perfect 5-of-5 shooting and two blocks off the bench.

Indiana flourished as a group, handing the Cavs just their second home loss of the season and fifth overall. The red-hot team has now won six straight and sits a half-game behind the fourth-place Orlando Magic. What is most impressive is that The Pacers are rising in the midst of Halliburton’s up-and-down campaign. He is averaging 18.1 points and 8.8 assists, shooting 44.5 percent.

But his presence is probably necessary if this group is to reach its best form. Halliburton is the maestro of what is still one of the most efficient offenses in the NBA. He is a great point-scoring playmaker. However, consistency remains the biggest obstacle standing in his way. Adding injury to the mix can only make that problem worse.

The Pacers are hoping Tyrese Halliburton can avoid a past accident

Hamstring tightness can linger, which is an uncomfortable scenario for the team moving forward. Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle can give TJ McConnell more responsibility if needed, but he needs a healthy Tyreese Haliburton until the spring. Again, there’s no reason to bemoan his durability this year. At least not yet.

Many fans will sigh after seeing this report though. He played fewer than 60 games in a season in three of the first four years of his career. The silver lining to the two-time All-Star’s likely layoff is that Indiana (22-18) as a whole will see what it’s made of in its second straight showdown with the top-ranked Cavaliers (33-5).

A tip-off is scheduled for Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET.

Alec House is a sports journalist covering the NFL, NBA and MLB for ClutchPoints, providing a unique writing voice due to his deep knowledge of New York sports. Alex lives in Connecticut after graduating from the University of Rhode Island with a degree in journalism.