Tyrese Haliburton’s return landed with a jolt in New Orleans, and it ended the way the Pacers had to have hoped: with a comeback win and a point guard looking very much like himself.
In his first official game back after tearing his Achilles tendon in Game 7 of the NBA Finals in June 2025, Haliburton pushed Indiana past the Pelicans on the road. He scored 23 points, piled up 12 assists and did most of his damage late, pouring in 16 points in the fourth quarter of the three-point victory.
The emotional part came after the game. Haliburton said he thought Friday’s home opener would be the moment that got to him, but seeing Pacers fans in the building in New Orleans changed that.
“ The best part was the end and that moment, ” Haliburton told Spears. “ 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.”
He also made it clear this night meant something to the people around him. Haliburton said several close friends and family members made the trip for Indiana’s opener, including his parents, wife, trainer and brothers.
“ 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.”
Spears also reported that Haliburton has leaned on Pelicans guard Dejounte Murray for guidance as he worked back from his own Achilles tear. Haliburton even asked Murray during the game about improving his conditioning.
Elsewhere in the Central, the Pacers got a useful lift from Quenton Jackson with T.J. McConnell still sidelined by a hamstring strain.
Rick Carlisle called Jackson the team’s “hero of the game” after the fifth-year guard came up with consecutive steals that turned into back-to-back layups late in the third quarter, trimming a seven-point deficit to three. Carlisle said, “ (Jackson) came in and immediately … there was a four-point swing in the second half,” and added, “ And then he earned his way into crunch time.
That’s what we need. We just need guys playing their hearts out.
Anything less isn’t going to get us there.”
Gary Trent Jr.’s start with the Bucks has gone in a rough direction. After re-signing with Milwaukee on a four-year, $64MM deal, the veteran shooting guard struggled through the preseason and then didn’t play at all in Wednesday’s season-opening loss to Washington. Joe Vardon of The Athletic noted that the league is investigating Trent’s contract to determine whether it was a form of salary cap circumvention.
And in Chicago, the Bulls’ opener was a mess from start to finish. Toronto blasted them by 43 points, and Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times wrote that the lack of fight stood out as much as the final margin.
Tiago Splitter said, “ The way we competed,” when asked what bothered him most about the loss, then pointed to the response after turnovers: “ After a turnover, getting our heads down when running back, that’s something we cannot accept.” With a difficult stretch ahead, Friday’s game against Milwaukee suddenly looms as an important chance for Chicago to get on the board.
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