INDIANAPOLIS - Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton has been named a starter for the NBA All-Star Game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Sunday, Feb. 18.
The announcement was made before TNT's national broadcast of the Celtics-Heat game on Thursday evening.
Next month's game will be Haliburton's second All-Star appearance and first as a starter. He earned a trip to last year's game in Utah as a reserve, scoring 18 points in almost 14 minutes of action for Team LeBron.
The 23-year-old is currently battling a left hamstring strain suffered on Jan. 8 against Boston.
He returned on Friday scoring 21 points in a loss at Portland. He sat out the final game of the team's six-game road in Phoenix on Sunday before head coach Rick Carlisle told 93.5/107.5 the Fan's "The Wake Up Call w/KB & Andy" show on Tuesday he would miss the next three games. The team said he will be re-evaluated on Saturday.
Haliburton leads the league in assists at 12.6 per game while averaging 23.6 points.
Fans, current players and media vote for all-star starters. The fans comprise 50 percent of the vote with players and media accounting for 25 percent each. Haliburton received the most votes among Eastern Conference guards.
All-Star Weekend begins with the Rising Stars game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Friday night, continues with All-Star Saturday Night at Lucas Oil Stadium, before the actual game at 8:00 p.m. on Sunday.