Tyrese Haliburton broke into tears of joy on Wednesday night when he looked into the Smoothie King Center crowd and saw Indiana Pacers fans celebrating his return, as the Pacers beat the New Orleans Pelicans 123-120 in their season opener. The two-time All-Star had expected his first emotional moment to come at the Pacers’ home opener on Friday.
“The best part was the end and that moment,” Haliburton said after the game. “It’s been an emotional roller coaster. I’m telling you, what made me feel that way was seeing all those Pacers fans here in New Orleans. That was special.”
Haliburton, who admitted he was gassed for much of the game, scored 16 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter and added 12 assists in 33 minutes as Indiana held on. It was his first game since he tore his right Achilles tendon in a Game 7 loss to the 2025 NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder on June 22, 2025. Without Haliburton last season, the injury-plagued Pacers fell from Eastern Conference champions to a dismal 19-63 record.
A return to form
Pacers forward Pascal Siakam led all scorers with a game-high 30 points. He praised Haliburton’s performance while acknowledging the difficulty of the past year.
“He looked great. I told him it would take some time to get back to his shape,” Siakam said. “His shape is amazing with the pace and everything we play like. But the first game back, I’m just happy for him to be back on the floor. I know how hard last [season] was for him.”
Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said Haliburton had played at a high level. “Tyrese played extremely well. It’s the first time he played over 30 minutes in 16½ months.”
Haliburton made his first shot of the season on a 4-foot runner that trimmed the Pelicans’ early lead to 10-8. He scored seven points in the first quarter but did not score in the second. He finished the first half with seven points on 3-of-8 shooting, missing four of five 3-point attempts, and added six assists in 17 minutes and 42 seconds. He also went scoreless in the third quarter.
Pelicans forward Zion Williamson dominated the first half with 15 of his 22 points, including a buzzer-beating 3 at halftime that put Indiana behind 66-56.
“It felt good. It felt really good,” Haliburton said of his first made basket. “I think preseason prepared me for that in terms of not pressing and letting it come to me. I’m trying to play the right way and I got a layup that opened things up for me.”
Late push and a taunt
With 9:31 remaining in the fourth quarter, Haliburton drew a foul on a dunk. He stoically enjoyed the moment lying under the basket while his teammates celebrated enthusiastically on the court and the bench. He then completed a three-point play with 7:41 left to cut New Orleans’ lead to 101-98. A hockey assist from Haliburton set up an Ivica Zubac alley-oop dunk with 7:08 remaining, and the Pacers trimmed the deficit to 101-100.
Seconds later, a fired-up Haliburton appeared to taunt Pelicans big man Derik Queen. Both teams exchanged trash talk, and Haliburton was assessed a technical foul upon review.
“I didn’t say anything. I want my money back for that technical,” Haliburton said with a smile.
Haliburton said he still needs to build his conditioning. He credited Pelicans guard Dejounte Murray, who tore his right Achilles on January 31, 2025, as his biggest NBA mentor during his own recovery. Haliburton even asked Murray during the game about the keys to getting in better shape after an Achilles tear.
Indiana regained the lead at 106-104 on a layup from Andrew Nembhard with 5:38 remaining. Haliburton and Siakam re-entered the game with 4:14 left, and Williamson made two free throws to tie the score. A running lay-in from Haliburton with two minutes to play gave the Pacers a 118-116 lead, and another three-point play pushed Indiana ahead 121-118 with 1:23 to go.
With about 20 seconds left, Nembhard declined to pass to Haliburton for a possible game-sealing shot. About six seconds later, Nembhard was called for travelling, which gave the Pelicans late hope. New Orleans then missed three 3-pointers in the final seconds, and the Pacers held on.
“It’s Game 1. What we appreciate about it is putting film on the coaches’ computers for us to watch. I will be thankful for that and prepare for Friday [against Dallas],” Haliburton said.
Friends and family in the crowd
Haliburton had plenty of support in New Orleans, including many Pacers fans, family, friends and business associates. His wife, Jade, whom he married this past offseason, attended and hugged her emotional husband after the game. His parents, John and Brenda Haliburton, and his two brothers were also there. Haliburton’s agent, Aaron Mintz, shooting coach Drew Hanlen, marketing representative Kristina Kozica and other friends were in attendance too.
“My people flew out here. I think there was 12 people on the [private] plane,” Haliburton said. “My best friend, my brothers. My parents. My wife. My trainer. Mostly everybody. I think it was important for everybody to be there and they wanted to be there for me. It just means a lot.”