The Pacers have taken a 3-1 lead in their Eastern Conference Finals series against the Knicks. Tyrese Haliburton put on a show for his home fans with a triple-double. He had 32 points, 15 assists, and 12 rebounds. But the biggest storyline for him in this game was that it was his father’s first game back from the ban he had on attending both home and away Pacers’ games. Pacers lifted the ban on their home arena, but the NBA has still disallowed Mr. John Haliburton from traveling with the team.
Haliburton spoke to the media after his glorious Game 4 performance and also brought up what it was like to have his father back at games. Haliburton had a broad smile on his face as he seemed to point out that the media seemed to have blown the whole issue out of proportion.
“I just wanted to put on a good performance, you know, I wanted to win the game. You know, obviously my dad being here is special, but I mean, growing up, like, my dad was reffing a lot on the weekends, so he didn’t get to come to many of my games growing up. So when he would come to my game, I’d want to play well. So with him being the building, of course, I wanted to play well. But I mean, we ain’t got no 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. So yeah, I was happy he was in the building.”
Haliburton put on a show for his father’s comeback to Pacers’ games. He joined Russell Westbrook as the only players in NBA history with 20 points, 10 assists, and 5 rebounds in a single half of the Playoffs.
Why Tyrese Haliburton’s Father Was Banned From Pacers’ Games
Tyrese Haliburton’s father got into an altercation with the Bucks’ superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo on the court after the Pacers eliminated them in five games. Giannis got triggered by Haliburton’s father coming onto the court for what seemed to him as trash-talk directed at him.
Antetokounmpo confronted Haliburton’s father and also spoke out to the media about how the comments hit a nerve for him. John Haliburton later clarified that the Bucks’ star had misunderstood trash talk that was directed at Pacers fans from an enthusiastic father to be hurtful comments directed at Giannis. He even issued an apology.
As a result, John Haliburton was banned from attending any of the Pacers’ games in their second-round series with the Cavaliers. The Pacers now head to New York to possibly close out their series against the Knicks in five games as well. While Haliburton’s dad will not be at Game 5, he will certainly be at Game 6 if the series goes on till then.
