Nov 24, 2023; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) celebrates a made basket with fans in the second half against the Detroit Pistons at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

Tyrese Haliburton Invites Man Trashed By Knicks Fans to Game

Originally posted on New York Knicks on SI
By Geoff Magliocchetti | Last updated May 20, 2025 11:00 AM ET

Hans Perez won't have to pay an Indianapolis 500 — or more — to see his beloved Indiana Pacers face the New York Knicks this postseason.

Perez, a New York City firefighter who happens to be a fan of the Indiana NBA franchise, is on his way to Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Knicks and his beloved Pacers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The series, with an NBA Finals bid on the line, gets underway on Wednesday in Manhattan (8 p.m. ET, TNT).

He was personally invited by Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton on Monday's edition of "The Pat McAfee Show" after he went somewhat viral when jubilant Knicks fans threw trash at Perez when he walked by them as they celebrated New York's dominant victory over the Boston Celtics in Game 6 of the conference semifinals on Friday.

Knicks fans jumped a Haliburton fan. pic.twitter.com/PzjmzNnxRq
— NBACentel (@TheNBACentel) May 17, 2025

"Everybody in our organization wants to make sure you're taken care of," Haliburton told Perez. "All the team's excited to meet you. It's all we've been talking about."

Perez says that he has always support the Pacers, whose famed "P" emblem is tattooed on his skin. The Knicks and Pacers, of course, shared a tense history as NBA postseason rivals, having met on eight prior occasions. Indiana has won five of those showdowns, including a seven-game triumph against an injury-riddled Knick squad in last year's conference semis.

Perez was in attendance for last year's finale, which saw the Pacers earn a 130-109 victory. The Knicks' Friday night beatdown of Boston ignited a series of wild, if not euphoric, celebrations outside Madison Square Garden and set up a rematch with the Pacers, who clobbered Cleveland in their conference semifinal set.

Tyrese Haliburton goes on the Pat McAfee Show to talk to the Pacers fan that was attacked by Knicks fans after Game 6: "I want to personally bring you and a plus-1 out here to Indiana for Game 4, everyone in the org wants to make sure you're taken care of, ....1/2 pic.twitter.com/ue3jBwWN8y
— NBA Dracos (@NBADracos) May 19, 2025

Clad in his Haliburton threads, Perez claimed to McAfee that he went down to more or less scout out his competition and was followed by one particular mob when he walked by.

"I've been wearing that jersey all playoffs long, I've been supporting my Pacers, I had to go by Madison Square Garden," Perez said. "I said 'I don't know if I should go into the mob, but I'm going to go close by, feel the energy, get ready for the series ... [Last year], I was there with the Pacers jersey, they were a little nicer, it wasn't a Friday night, this year they got me."

This article first appeared on New York Knicks on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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