Tyrese Haliburton’s dad had a front-row seat to his son’s game-winning shot Thursday as the Pacers opened the 2025 NBA Finals with a thrilling comeback victory.
Still fresh off the fan version of a suspension, John Haliburton — who has since returned to arenas following an on-court confrontation with Giannis Antetokounmpo earlier in the playoffs — appeared stunned at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, where Tyrese hit a jumper with 0.3 seconds remaining to give Indiana its first lead in the 111-110 victory against the Thunder.
It was nothing but a rather straight face and certainly a lot of internal pride — which became external after the game.
The next time John was spotted was postgame, when he released everything that he was surely feeling in the moment of his son’s fourth game-winner of the 2025 playoffs.
“Yes sir! Yes sir!” he repeatedly yelled when he ran into his son in the arena hallways after the massive Game 1 win.
John gave his son a big hug as he broke down in the emotional scene.
It’s a different look than a month ago when John stormed the court following Indiana’s elimination of the Bucks in the first round and stood toe to toe with Antetokounmpo — flexing a towel with his son’s face on it and directing plenty of taunts his way.
John missed several games before the Pacers reversed course on the punishment in late May, permitting him to return to Gaibridge Fieldhouse during Indiana’s Eastern Conference Finals triumph over the Knicks.
Emotions clearly got the best of John in that moment, but with the run his son and the Pacers are on, who could blame him? He’s had a lot to celebrate.
Indiana came into the postseason as the No. 4 seed in the East, with expectations for its first-round matchup with Milwaukee to be a dogfight. If the Pacers were to get past there, many expected them to fizzle out in the second round against the top-seeded Cavaliers.
But Indiana eliminated both teams in just five games apiece.
The Pacers then got by the Knicks in six games and are now just three wins away from a championship over Oklahoma City.
Haliburton’s shot to beat the Thunder in Game 1 was his fourth game-winner of the playoff run — his dad’s reaction to the shot in the moment says that maybe the Haliburtons are simply used to the clutch shots by now.