Pacers Star Tyrese Haliburton Justifies Wearing Protective Face Mask

Jeremy Hanna | 2 Hours Ago

Nov 27, 2024; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) in his face mask in the first half against the Portland Trail Blazers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images / Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

The Indiana Pacers had an exciting match up against the Portland Trail Blazers, triumphing with a 121-114 victory.

A large part of this success came from the re-emergence of star Tyrese Haliburton, who finished the game with 28 points, 10 assists, seven total rebounds, and two rebounds.

However, Haliburton's excellent stat line wasn't the main conversation surrounding the guard. Instead, most people were focusing on the sudden appearance of a protective face mask.

Fortunately, Haliburton was able to explain that this was a preventative measure and not something to worry about in the long term.

"That night after the game my nose was giving me some problems," Haliburton said, per Dustin Dopirak of the Indy Star. "It was just really sensitive to the touch. I just know Portland is a very physical team. I felt like if I got hit in the nose it would hurt pretty bad.

"We had a discussion before the game that it would probably be best if I wore a mask. But it wasn't mandatory, it was more my choice. They wanted me to shoot with it and it felt fine."

That being said, it was clear that Haliburton wasn't enjoying wearing the mask. With less than five minutes remaining in the first half, the two-time All-Star ditched the mask to the sideline.

"It was just getting it to sit right and strapped on right," Haliburton explained. "It was bothering me a little bit. But we persevered."

This event did not surprise teammate Myles Turner.

"I said before the game, I told the trainers, 'There's no way he's gonna wear that,'" Turner said. "I personally didn't notice when he took it off but I didn't find that hard to believe, especially for somebody like himself if it's something that can affect your vision."

In the end, not wearing the mask proved to be the right move. With the mask on, Haliburton had only made two of his first five shots. After removing the mask, he went on to make six of ten field goal attempts.

Now, as the Pacers look to battle the Detroit Pistons, Haliburton has stated that no one should expect the mask to come back any time soon.

"It's not coming back," Haliburton said. "Hopefully in a couple more days it stops hurting so much. I hope I never see that again."

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