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Tyrese Haliburton Shares Sweet Moment With Dad After Stealing Game 1 From Thunder

Love to see it.

Brigid Kennedy

Tyrese Haliburton and John Haliburton embrace on June 5, 2025.
Tyrese Haliburton and John Haliburton embrace on June 5, 2025. / NBA on ESPN / X / Screensho
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Thank goodness Pops Haliburton got to see this one.

John Haliburton, Tyrese Haliburton's father, was in the house for Game 1 of the Indiana Pacers' NBA Finals series vs. the Oklahoma City Thunder, and although there were no viral confrontations with members of the opposing team, the point guard's father did make sure to show up right after the contest for a sweet moment with his son.

The pair got to link up as Hali made his way to the locker room—after sinking the game-winning bucket, of course—and his Pops looked so unbelievably excited to see him.

Take a look at that moment below:

We'd expect nothing less from Hali's dad, who made waves after engaging in a testy on-court confrontation with Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo earlier in the playoffs. He apologized for his actions after the fact, but was nonetheless hit with a brief eight-game ban in response.

We're glad he got to be there tonight to watch his son yet again bring home the win (which the eldest Haliburton correctly predicted, by the way—take a look below):

More On Pacers Game 1 Win

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Brigid Kennedy
BRIGID KENNEDY

Brigid Kennedy is a contributor to the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI in November 2024, she covered political news, sporting news and culture at TheWeek.com before moving to Livingetc, an interior design magazine. She is a graduate of Syracuse University, dual majoring in television, radio and film (from the Newhouse School of Public Communications) and marketing managment (from the Whitman School of Management). Offline, she enjoys going to the movies, reading and watching the Steelers.

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