Tyrese Haliburton’s father, John, allowed back at Game 4 of Knicks-Pacers after Giannis confrontation

After being on the right side of a handful of historic comeback wins this postseason, the Indiana Pacers find themselves as the ones needing to bounce back from a gutting loss in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals against the New York Knicks, 

New York erased a 20-point deficit to beat the Pacers thanks to Karl-Anthony Towns’ heroics in the fourth quarter on Sunday night in Indiana, as the Knicks saved their season and avoided falling behind 3-0. Ahead of Tuesday’s Game 4 in Gainbridge Fieldhouse, the Pacers are going to need to find their spark again and avoid holding their heads down, and their star guard may get an emotional boost by the return of his biggest fan. 

Tyrese Haliburton’s father, John, will be allowed back in the building, per Shams Charania, after missing the last eight games of the Pacers playoff run after he got into a confrontation with Giannis Antetokounmpo after Indiana’s Game 5 win to eliminate the Bucks in the first round. 

The elder Haliburton’s absence was agreed upon by all parties after he lost his head in the celebration of the Pacers win, and there are still some stipulations on his return, as Charania notes he will be in a suite and not courtside for Game 4. He also will not travel to road games, meaning he will not be in Madison Square Garden for Game 5. 

That is probably the right choice, but also a bit disappointing we won’t get a chance for a game-within-the-game between John Haliburton and Timothée Chalamet in the courtside seats. While he hasn’t been in the building, John Haliburton has been enjoying his son’s exploits from afar — mimicking his Game 1 choke celebration. Now he’ll be back in the building and we’ll have all the super fans in the house for both sides for Game 4.