Wrist injury to sideline Haliburton for multiple games

Sacramento Kings rookie Tyrese Haliburton will miss multiple games due to a left wrist bone bruise suffered during the fourth quarter of the team’s 119-122 loss to the Houston Rockets on December 31.

An MRI was performed on Friday morning confirming the injury which will keep him out for at least the next two games when the Kings face the Rockets on Saturday and Golden State Warriors on Monday.

An update on a timetable for his return will be provided next week when the team returns to Sacramento following their three-game road trip.

With 10:42 remaining in the fourth, Haliburton attempted a highlight-reel dunk after another DeMarcus Cousins slopy pass was picked off by Cory Joseph. Houston’s John Wall was able to block the shot, sending Tyrese crashing to the floor, landing on his left wrist. He remained there for a while before being helped up by teammates.

He still stayed in the game for the rest of the quarter.

The irony of the sequence was that Wall had been called for a foul. Houston then challenged the foul, and it was overturned, but during the original play, Harrison Barnes had grabbed the blocked shot and scored the basket. The result was no free-throws for Haliburton, no foul on Wall, but two points nonetheless for Sacramento.

In five games, Haliburton has averaged 10.6 points, 4.4 assists, two rebounds, and has proven himself a valuable rotation player for Sacramento. Head coach Luke Walton has trusted the rookie enough to keep him on the floor to close out games alongside De’Aaron Fox and Buddy Hield.

This is the same wrist Tyrese fractured back on February 8 against Kansas State that ended his collegiate career.