New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson controls the ball against Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton. Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Watch: Jalen Brunson, Tyrese Haliburton invade WWE SmackDown

By Sai Mohan | Last updated Jun 29, 2024 9:17 AM ET

Knicks star Jalen Brunson and Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton made surprise cameos during Friday's WWE SmackDown at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

While Brunson was initially shown in the audience, Haliburton accompanied United States Champion Logan Paul to the ring for his three-way Money in the Bank qualifier match against LA Knight and Santos Escobar. While introducing Halburton, the villainous Paul poked fun at New York fans for having their hearts crushed by the Pacers in their Eastern Conference semifinals series last month.

Haliburton then stared down Brunson in the crowd as he remained in Paul's corner for the match.

Jalen Brunson stared down Tyrese Haliburton at WWE SmackDown pic.twitter.com/T5WjLohmDs
— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) June 29, 2024

Later, Brunson stopped Haliburton from using a pair of brass knuckles to help Paul cheat his way to victory. As Brunson confronted his Pacers rival, fans serenaded him with "MVP" chants.

The Knicks/Pacers rivalry moves to the WWE

Jalen Brunson stopped Tyrese Haliburton from helping Logan Paul cheat to win his Money in the Bank match.

@WWE pic.twitter.com/BnmSeF1vdt
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) June 29, 2024

Brunson would get the last laugh as crowd favorite Knight prevailed with the win. After the match, Brunson and Haliburton stared down each other while holding steel chairs, evoking a "holy bleep" chant from the sold-out MSG crowd.

JALEN BRUNSON VS. TYRESE HALIBURTON.

(via @BWAMatt)

pic.twitter.com/Yis0Nl08sR
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) June 29, 2024

Later in the night, Knight thanked Brunson for helping him clinch a spot in the men's Money in the Bank ladder match. Brunson joined the interview and said the outcome would be "very different" when his Knicks face the Pacers in a future NBA playoffs series.

"That was awesome," Brunson said of his WWE on-air debut. "I'm just glad I got out there with him [Knight]. It was a dream come true."

Sai Mohan

A veteran sportswriter based in Portugal, Sai covers the NBA for Yardbarker and a few local news outlets. He had the honor of covering sporting events across four different continents as a newspaper reporter. Some of his all-time favorite athletes include Mike Tyson, Larry Bird, Luís Figo, Ayrton Senna and Steffi Graf.

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