Tyrese Haliburton’s father got a show on Tuesday night in what was his first game back in the stands at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
John Haliburton, after an on-court incident with Giannis Antetokounmpo earlier in the postseason, returned to watch the Pacers’ 130-121 win over the New York Knicks in Game 4 on Tuesday. Fittingly, Tyrese went off and put up a triple-double the likes of which the NBA has never seen before.
“Hell yeah. I’m glad pops is in the building, man,” Haliburton said when asked about his dad’s return on TNT. “It makes it that much more sweet. Yeah, it had a little bit to do with it.”
John missed eight straight postseason games after his incident with Antetokounmpo last month. John, after the Pacers closed out the Milwaukee Bucks in the opening round, ran out onto the floor and started taunting Antetokounmpo repeatedly. Tyrese and Antetokounmpo called John out after the game, and John apologized the next morning.
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Still, the team then confirmed that he’d be away from games “for the foreseeable future.”
“I think there was obviously a lot of commentary around him, especially right after [the incident], which I think some was warranted,” Tyrese said. “Some went a little too far. But I mean, that’s just sports. That’s just sports. And that’s just … talking heads, you know? What can you really do?”
John was cleared to make his return on Tuesday night in Indianapolis, and he was sitting in a suite at Gainbridge Fieldhouse for the contest. His son then erupted in a historic performance.
Tyrese finished with a 32-point triple-double with 15 assists and 12 rebounds in the nine-point win for the Pacers. He’s now the only Pacers player with multiple postseason triple-doubles in franchise history, and he’s just the third player in NBA history with a 30-15-10 triple-double in the playoffs. Tyrese didn’t commit a single turnover, either, which is something no player has successfully pulled off with that triple-double line.
“Obviously, my dad being here is special,” Tyrese said. “But I mean, growing up, like, my dad was reffing for a lot of the weekend, so he didn’t get to come to many of my games growing up, so when he would come to any of them, I wanted to play well. So, with him being in the building, of course I wanted to play well.
“I know we’re saying, “Free Pops,” and “Pops is free!” But he was not in jail,” he added, jokingly. “He was in a very beautiful home, sitting very pretty watching NBA basketball. He’s just fine. Yeah, I was happy he was in the building.”
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While Tyrese has been dominating throughout the postseason — the Pacers have lost just three games total so far, and are now just a win away from reaching the NBA Finals for the first time since 2000 — his dad’s return to the stands undoubtedly gave him a boost, even if small, on Tuesday night.
We’ll see if John makes the trek to New York for Game 5 at Madison Square Garden on Thursday. Even if he doesn’t, the Pacers have the Knicks in a 3-1 hole that very few teams have ever rallied from. The critical win in Game 4 might make all the difference.
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