(WXIN/WTTV) — Tyrese Haliburton’s father will not be attending any Indiana Pacers games “for the foreseeable future,” according to information from ESPN’s Shams Charania.
According to reports, John Haliburton has been in conversations with the Pacers front office officials regarding his conduct after the team’s Game 5 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
Per ESPN sources, those talks ended with the decision that John will not attend any of Indiana’s home or road games “for the foreseeable future.” FOX59/CBS4 is now working to verify this report.
The decision stems from an altercation between John and Bucks’ superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo after the Pacers’ 119-118 overtime win over Milwaukee to end their Round 1 playoff series. The win was sealed after John’s son, Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton, drove past the defending Antetokounmpo and glided to the rim for a layup in the final seconds of OT.
John, who had been front row under the basket during the game, was seen walking onto the court after the final whistle blew and unfurling a flag with his son Tyrese’s face on it. He held it in Giannis’ face while the two exchanged words, eventually butting heads.
The incident soon sparked a larger scuffle amongst the two teams that involved Antetokounmpo, Bennedict Mathurin and Kevin Porter Jr. The altercation was eventually broken up as several players and coaches from both teams tried to ease tensions.
Tyrese, who had run onto the scorer’s table to celebrate with the crowd after the win, later scolded his father in a post-game interview.
“I think it’s the emotions of the game, he just got excited there,” Tyrese said when asked about the altercation. “I talked with him. Eventually, I’ll talk with Giannis. I don’t think my pops was right at all there.”
According to Charania, the decision for John to not attend games was a decision made by the Pacers front office. John was reportedly “understanding” and “accepted the choice” after confronting Antetokounmpo.
The Pacers are scheduled to play the Cavaliers on Sunday in Cleveland for Game 1 of their second-round playoff matchup. Tip-off time has not yet been determined.