Haliburton's first night back is a win
Sixteen months after he tore his Achilles in the Finals, Tyrese Haliburton had 23 and 12 and the Pacers opened with a 123-120 win in New Orleans.
NBA wire ·
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indiana Pacers | 38 | 18 | 30 | 37 | 123 |
| New Orleans Pelicans | 31 | 35 | 26 | 28 | 120 |
The number Pacers fans had been carrying around was 486 days. Tyrese Haliburton tore his right Achilles in Game 7 of the 2025 Finals, sat out all of last season, and walked back into a game that counted on Wednesday in New Orleans. Indiana won it, 123-120, in both teams' opener at Smoothie King Center. Afterward he told DAZN, through the Indianapolis Star, "It means a lot."
It was not a clean return, which is why it read like a real one. Indiana shot 59 percent in a first quarter it led 38-31, then went cold. New Orleans scored the first 12 points of the second quarter, held the Pacers to 33 percent shooting, and took a 66-56 lead into the half. Zion Williamson scored the last eight points of that half and beat the buzzer with a long jumper. The Pelicans were still up 92-86 after three.
Haliburton took the fourth. The Associated Press had him scoring eight of Indiana's 10 points in a 90-second stretch that wiped out a 101-93 New Orleans lead. The Pacers then ran off 15-3 and led 108-104. Pascal Siakam finished with 30, 12 of them in the quarter, including a stretch of 10 straight Indiana points. Obi Toppin had 20, most of it before halftime. Andrew Nembhard had 18 and nine assists. Ivica Zubac, in his first regular-season game with Indiana, had 16 points and 15 rebounds.
Williamson tied it at 116 with a driving layup and the foul shot. Haliburton scored on the next two trips, Quenton Jackson's two free throws made it 123-120 with 45.7 seconds left, and Williamson missed a finger roll. Nembhard was then called for traveling, which handed New Orleans one more possession. Jeremiah Fears and Williamson both missed threes.
Dejounte Murray had 23 for the Pelicans. Williamson finished with 22. The night was still about the guard who had been gone. The broadcast talked about the buzz around a healthy Haliburton sounding like the Finals run again. The box score was simpler than that. He played 33 minutes, shot 8 of 15, made both of his threes that counted, and did not pick up a foul. Indiana is 1-0. The Achilles is no longer a rumor.