INDIANAPOLIS — Tyrese Haliburton couldn’t lie and say it wasn’t meaningful to have his father, John, back in the building. Haliburton had a triple-double in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals in a 130-121 win over the Knicks that puts the Pacers within one win of their first NBA Finals appearance in 25 years. However, Haliburton also shot down the idea that John’s effective suspension from attending games after his on-court confrontation with Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo after the Pacers’ series-clinching Game 5 win in the first round of the playoffs was causing an emotional burden.
Days after the confrontation, it was determined that John would not be allowed to attend games either at home or on the road “for the foreseeable future” with the possibility that the effective suspension would last through the playoffs. On Monday, however, league sources confirmed that John would be allowed back in Gainbridge Fieldhouse but would sit in a suite instead of in his usual courtside seats near the baseline under one of the baskets.
John did return to Gainbridge for Game 4 and Tyrese was pleased to have him there. However, he also pointed out that John’s accommodations for watching the eight games he was not allowed to attend in person weren’t exactly harsh. He still came to Indiana for the home games and watched them from Tyrese’s house and video surfaced of him celebrating the Pacers’ Game 1 comeback win over the Knicks at a sports bar.
“Emotions, no,” Haliburton said when asked about the effect of John’s return. “I’m gonna be honest with you guys here. My dad is just fine. He lives just fine. He’s at the house watching the game in a beautiful home. Or he finds his way into some sports bar with a bunch of Pacer fans. My dad is doing just fine. … I know we’re saying ‘Free Pops’ and Pops is free. But he was not in jail. He happened to be in a very beautiful home sitting very pretty watching NBA basketball. He’s just fine.”
He is, however, always happy when John gets to see him play because that wasn’t always the case when he was growing up, especially when he was young because John was both a coach and an official in Oshkosh, Wis.
“I don’t think there’s really any emotion to it,’ Haliburton said. “I just wanted to put on a good performance. I wanted to win the game. Obviously my dad being here is special but growing up my dad was reffing a lot on the weekends so he didn’t get to come to many of my games. When he would come to my game I would want to play well. With him being in the building of course I wanted to play well.”
Haliburton was also honored by the presence of several other people in the stands. His trainer Drew Hanlen was there sitting with his mother and girlfriend. Former professional wrestler and current chief content officer of the WWE Triple-H was also in the building. Triple-H is among Haliburton’s favorite wrestlers and they’ve developed a connection that has allowed Haliburton to be a part of several WWE events, even getting into the ring with Knicks All-Star guard Jalen Brunson last summer to fake as if they would fight even though they didn’t actually wrestle.
“I’m not going to say that was more special, but Triple-H being in the building was pretty fire too,” Haliburton said.
Haliburton said he was also touched by the presence of so many former Pacers who have been a part of the extended playoff runs in the franchise’s past. Indy native George Hill — who was part of Eastern Conference Finals runs in 2013 and 2014 and also came back to play with the Pacers in 2023 — made an appearance on Tuesday. Among the list of other former Pacers stars in the building were Danny Granger, Jermaine O’Neal, Al Harrington, Lance Stephenson, Rik Smits, Travis Best, and Stephen Jackson. Reggie Miller was also in the building as the color analyst for TNT.
Granger’s appearance was particularly notable as he hadn’t made many appearances.
“All these guys are guys I’ve grown up watching,” Haliburton said. “When I got traded to the Pacers, and just being a basketball fan, you think of all the guys who come before you. They tried to put this organization in a better place than they found it and that’s what I’m trying to do as well. I know that might be cliche or weird because it’s professional sports. It’s not college. It’s the NBA. It’s a business. But I do think the alumni being here is really special.”
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: ‘Pops is free, but he was not in jail’: Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton discusses father John’s return
Reporting by Dustin Dopirak, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
