The Indiana Pacers’ preseason opener ended with a 123-112 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night, but the loudest reaction in Ames, Iowa, had almost nothing to do with the scoreboard.
Hilton Coliseum was packed with fans ready to welcome Tyrese Haliburton back to his alma mater, and he got the kind of reception you’d expect for a homecoming. Braden Smith, though, walked into a very different scene. The Pacers rookie guard was booed every time he touched the ball, turning his first NBA preseason game into something closer to a college road test.
Afterward, Rick Carlisle said he was just as confused as everybody else.
"Hats off to the Iowa State students. Unbelievable showing," Carlisle said.
"I'm not sure why there was very high-level heckling. We were trying to figure it out the whole game."
Carlisle pointed out that Iowa State had beaten Purdue by 30 points last season in a game he watched in person, which only deepened the mystery for him.
"For the record, I was at the game at Purdue last year when Iowa State kicked Purdue's ass," Carlisle said. "I was there.
I stayed for the whole thing. So, I'm trying to figure out why that would translate to that kind of heckling."
One possible explanation surfaced during the game: a social media post suggesting Smith may have taken Iowa State guard Tamin Lipsey’s spot on the Pacers roster.
Haliburton, who was greeted warmly throughout the night, said he was baffled too.
"I'm still a little dumbfounded," Haliburton said. "For lack of a better term, we beat the sh*t out of Purdue last year, so it ain't like he did anything crazy to us last year. I don't understand."
Even with the noise against him, Haliburton liked what he saw from Smith. He said the rookie handled a tough setting well and showed signs of becoming a productive NBA player.
"That's tough to play your first NBA game in a college road environment. How weird is that?
But I thought he did a great job," Haliburton said. "He was tired as the game went on.
He played a lot of minutes in that second half, but I thought he settled into the game really well."
Haliburton also highlighted Smith’s passing and compared parts of his game to T.J. McConnell.
"Braden's an unbelievable passer, has unbelievable feel for the game. That behind-the-back pass he had was really dope," Haliburton said. "He has a knack, like T.J., I've just being able to get baseline and kind of play there."
Smith, for his part, seemed to enjoy the whole thing. Speaking with Tony East after the game, he said hostile crowds have always brought out something in him.
"I kinda love it," Smith said. "For me, my entire life, I've loved away games. I always loved those environments."
He still didn’t fully understand why Iowa State fans singled him out.
"They came to our place last year and beat us by 30," Smith said. "If I had 30 and I had a good game, totally understand.
I didn't even play that game, and we lost. So, I was like, why are they booing me?
If anything, they should be cheering me on."
Smith also fired back with a light jab at the crowd while defending the atmosphere at Mackey Arena.
"I loved Mackey home games, and our fan base is better than that, so them thinking 'boo' was gonna do anything as funny," Smith said. "But it's awesome. It's all fun and games, and it's a sign of respect, too."
For a rookie with four seasons of experience in hostile Big Ten settings, the reaction wasn’t exactly new territory. It just made Haliburton’s feel-good return a little stranger, and gave Smith a memorable first taste of NBA preseason life.
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