INDIANAPOLIS — Tyrese Haliburton’s previously banned father was back in the building, and so, too, was the All-Star point guard’s electrifying all-around game.
John Haliburton was permitted by the Pacers to return to Gainbridge Fieldhouse following a first-round altercation with Giannis Antetokounmpo, and he got to see his son put on an absolute show with his first triple-double of these playoffs in Indiana’s 130-121 victory Tuesday night in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals.
The 25-year-old Haliburton put up 20 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds by halftime before finishing with a 32-15-12 stat line with zero turnovers and four steals in 38 minutes as the Pacers seized a 3-1 series lead with the series shifting to New York for Game 5 on Thursday at the Garden.
He joined Oscar Robertson (twice) and Nikola Jokic as the only players in playoff history to record a triple-double with at least 30 points and 15 assists.
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“Hell yeah, I’m glad Pops [is] in the building, man, makes it more sweet,” Haliburton said during a postgame interview on TNT. “Definitely had something to do with it.”
The younger Haliburton had invoked the Reggie Miller choke sign from 1994 following a game-tying shot at the end of regulation of Indy’s overtime win in Game 1 after the Knicks had flushed a 14-point lead with under three minutes to play.
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But the two-time All-Star admitted after the Knicks came back from 20 points behind to take Game 3 that he was “kicking myself” for his part in a lackluster team showing with only 42 points in the second half.
John Haliburton, who had confronted Antetokounmpo on the court after the Pacers’ clinching Game 5 win in the first round against the Bucks on April 29, took in the game from a luxury suite after not attending any of the five games against Cleveland nor the first three games of this series.
Haliburton didn’t speak to the media after the Pacers announced the reversal on Monday, but he called out his father’s behavior at the time, saying “he needs to just allow me to play basketball and stay over there, and I’ll come to him to celebrate … I don’t think my pops was in the right at all there.”
John Haliburton also issued an apology to both Antetokounmpo and to the Bucks.
“Glad he’s back,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said before Game 4. “A father should be able to watch his son play basketball. So we welcome him back.”
Tyrese Haliburton came out firing and scored 15 of the Pacers’ 42 points and six dimes in the first quarter alone.
He added five more points in the second and was two rebounds shy of a triple-double by intermission, with Indiana holding a 69-64 lead.
Haliburton reached 30 points for the second time in the series (also Game 1) with a short runner to put the Pacers ahead 115-102 midway through the fourth quarter.
After a 13-5 Knicks run brought them back within six, Haliburton weaved his way to the hoop for an eight-point lead with 3:40 remaining.