Tyrese Haliburton broke into tears of joy Wednesday night when he looked into the Smoothie King Center crowd and saw Indiana Pacers fans cheering his return, and he helped the Pacers beat the New Orleans Pelicans 123-120 in the season opener. He 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, a two-time All-Star, scored 23 points and dished out 12 assists in 33 minutes. He scored 16 of those points in the fourth quarter as Indiana held on. It was his first game since he tore his right Achilles tendon in a Game 7 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on June 22, 2025. Without him, the injury-plagued Pacers fell from Eastern Conference champions to a 19-63 record last season.
Siakam Leads Indiana Scoring
Pascal Siakam paced all scorers with 30 points and praised his teammate’s return. “He looked great. I told him it would take some time to get back to his shape,” Siakam said. “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 noted the workload. “Tyrese played extremely well. It’s the first time he played over 30 minutes in 16½ months,” Carlisle said.
A Slow Start, Then a Strong Finish
Haliburton made his first shot of the season on a 4-foot runner that cut New Orleans’ early lead to 10-8. He scored seven first-quarter points but went scoreless in the second and finished the first half with seven points on 3-of-8 shooting. He also had six assists in 17 minutes and 42 seconds.
Pelicans forward Zion Williamson dominated the first half with 15 of his 22 points, including a buzzer-beating 3-pointer at halftime that put Indiana behind 66-56. Haliburton also went scoreless in the third quarter.
He regained his rhythm in the fourth. With 9:31 left, he drew a foul on a dunk, and his teammates celebrated on the court and bench. He added a three-point play with 7:41 remaining to trim New Orleans’ lead to 101-98. A hockey assist from Haliburton set up an Ivica Zubac alley-oop dunk that pulled the Pacers within 101-100.
Moments later, Haliburton appeared to taunt Pelicans big man Derik Queen, and both teams traded trash talk. After a review, officials assessed Haliburton a technical foul. “I didn’t say anything. I want my money back for that technical,” he said with a smile.
Finishing the Game
Haliburton admitted he was gassed for much of the night and still needs to build his conditioning. He credited Pelicans guard Dejounte Murray, who tore his right Achilles on Jan. 31, 2025, as his biggest NBA mentor during his recovery. Haliburton even asked Murray during the game how to get in better shape after an Achilles injury.
Andrew Nembhard’s layup gave Indiana a 106-104 lead with 5:38 remaining. Haliburton and Siakam returned with 4:14 left, just as Williamson made two free throws to tie the score. Haliburton then scored a running lay-in to make it 118-116 with two minutes to play, and another three-point play pushed the Pacers ahead 121-118 with 1:23 left.
With about 20 seconds remaining, Nembhard declined a pass to Haliburton for a potential game-sealing shot. Nembhard then traveled about six seconds later, giving New Orleans a late chance. The Pelicans 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.
Family and Friends in the Crowd
Haliburton had plenty of support in New Orleans. His wife, Jade, whom he married this past offseason, attended the game and hugged her emotional husband afterward. His parents, John and Brenda Haliburton, and his two brothers were also there, along with agent Aaron Mintz, shooting coach Drew Hanlen, marketing representative Kristina Kozica and other friends.
“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.”