Tyrese Haliburton got to do something that few NBA players get to during his first playoff game — his postseason debut came in his home state.
The experience was not exactly what he hoped it would be, as his brother was allegedly called a racial slur during Game 1 against the Bucks.
Here's what Haliburton said about the incident after the Pacers' 125-108 Game 2 win over the Bucks.
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What happened to Tyrese Haliburton's brother?
Haliburton said that his brother was called the N-word during Game 1 of the Pacers-Bucks series.
The topic was broached when Haliburton, an Oshkosh native, was asked how nice it was to play in front of his family in Milwaukee.
At first, he expressed appreciation that his family was able to attend the game.
"My fam came out, showed love," Haliburton said, referencing his first playoff game. "It's been good to have 'em here."
But after that, Haliburton paused briefly and then revealed what happened to his brother at the Fiserv Forum.
"My little brother in the stands the other day was called the N-word," Haliburton said. "It was important for us as a family to just address that. And that was important for us to talk about because that just didn't sit right with anybody in our family. It's just been important to have my family here right now."
Haliburton, 24, has three brothers — two older and one younger — and said that his youngest brother "handled that the right way." He also lauded his family and teammates alike for doing "a good job of handling this environment" in Milwaukee.
"The conversation [in the stands], it's friendly during the regular season because I'm the hometown kid," Haliburton explained. "But it's a little different when you're visiting in this environment."
Haliburton didn't elaborate much more on the incident involving his brother. He just noted that he was looking forward to returning to Indiana for Game 3, "to go in front of our fans and play in front of a great crowd."
He also took a minor dig at Milwaukee's fans ahead of the series' move back to Indiana.
"We've had regular season crowds better than what we've played in these last two games," he said.
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Bucks respond to racial slur incident
The Bucks were asked about Haliburton's comments and the incident involving his brother after Game 2.
A Bucks spokesperson confirmed the team was aware of the incident and said the Bucks "are committed to providing a safe and secure experience" for all fans, per ESPN.
An arena guest services representative reported that during Sunday's game a few guests were not sitting in their correct seats. The guest services representative asked the group to move one section over to their correct seats. Then, one of the individuals in the group claimed to the representative that a person sitting in front of him had used a derogatory term toward him. The accused person denied the accusation. The group moved to their correct seats and no further incident was reported.
We take our fan environment extremely seriously and are committed to providing a safe and secure experience.
It isn't clear whether the Bucks or the NBA will take action against the fan in question after Haliburton's comments.
