Tyrese Haliburton’s father will be allowed to attend Indiana Pacers home games again this postseason. John Haliburton will be in attendance when the Pacers host the New York Knicks in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Tuesday, ESPN reported.
The elder Haliburton was indefinitely banned by the Pacers from attending games following an incident with Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo. After the Pacers won Game 5 to knock out the Bucks in the first round of the playoffs, John Haliburton stormed the court and held a towel with his son’s image in front of Antetokounmpo. Moments later, the two had a confrontation.
Haliburton condemned his father’s actions following that win on April 29, while Antetokounmpo said that John Haliburton was being “very, very disrespectful.” John Haliburton also apologized for his actions in a social media post following the incident.
“After conversations with Tyrese Haliburton’s father, John Haliburton, and the Indiana Pacers front office, John Haliburton will not attend the team’s home and road games for the foreseeable future,” the Pacers told ESPN when they announced John Haliburton’s ban. “This was a decision made by the Pacers front office, and John Haliburton was understanding and accepted the choice after confronting Giannis Antetokounmpo on the court postgame Tuesday night.”
As the Pacers have made a surprise run into the Eastern Conference finals, there had been a push for John Haliburton to be granted access to attend games again. His son even joined the call to allow his father to attend games again, telling TNT Sports, “free my pops until it’s backwards” following the Pacers’ Game 2 win over the Knicks.
[Related: Tyrese Haliburton is on an amazing run. His father should be back to witness in person.]
Despite his banishment, John Haliburton has still remained supportive of his son and the Pacers during their playoff run. He was seen watching Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals, when his son hit a memorable shot that sent the game to overtime, Tom’s Bar in Indianapolis. Wearing Pacers sweatpants and a gold “Haliburton 0” hoodie, John Haliburton was seen pointing at a large screen as a replay showed Tyrese’s long jumper at the end of regulation bounce high off the rim and fall through the net at Madison Square Garden. He also gave the Reggie Miller choke gesture, just as his son did, and yelled “Let’s go, baby! Let’s go!”
In another video that seemed to be taken after the game, John Haliburton held what appeared to be a towel with his son’s image. He also recited the lyrics from Rob49’s song “WTHELLY”, yelling, “What the Hali! What the Hali-Berry! What the Haliburton!”
John Haliburton will attend Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals in a suite, but he is still barred from attending road games, according to ESPN. The Pacers will attempt to go up 3-1 in the series on Tuesday.
The younger Haliburton has arguably been the biggest reason for the Pacers’ success this postseason. He’s averaging 18.5 points, a team-high 9.4 assists, 5.5 rebounds and a steal per game in the playoffs.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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