The presence of Tyrese Haliburton’s father, John Haliburton, was met with raucous cheers and even chants of “Free Pops” echoing through the arena—a movement that had gone viral on social media in recent weeks.

The “Free Pops” trend began after John Haliburton was banned from attending Pacers games for eight matches, both home and away, following a heated altercation with Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo during the first round of the playoffs.

The incident, which saw John waving a towel with Tyrese’s face on it in Giannis’ direction after a dramatic game-winning layup, escalated into a forehead-to-forehead confrontation and led to the Pacers’ decision to keep John away from the team for the foreseeable future.

Tyrese Haliburton: “He was not in jail!”

As the “Free Pops” movement gained traction, fans showed their support for the Haliburton family by sharing memes, wearing T-shirts, and even chanting the phrase during games. Tyrese, however, found the whole situation more amusing than serious. In his postgame press conference after Game 4, Haliburton addressed the viral campaign with a laugh:

“I know we’re saying ‘FREE POPS’ but he was not in jail, he happened to be in a very beautiful home sitting very pretty watching NBA basketball… He’s just fine,” Tyrese joked.

Altercation with Giannis Antetokounmpo

Despite the fun, Tyrese also acknowledged the seriousness of the altercation. He admitted after the original incident that he had spoken with his father about the need to let him focus on basketball and avoid getting caught up in the emotions of the game.

“He needs to just allow me to play basketball and stay over there, and I’ll come to him to celebrate,” Tyrese said. “But the emotions of the game got excited there. I talked with him. I’ll talk with Giannis about it. I don’t think my pops was in the right at all there.”

John Haliburton, for his part, issued a public apology to Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Bucks, and the Pacers organization, acknowledging that his actions were not a good reflection on the sport or his son. The Pacers lifted the ban ahead of Game 4, though John will reportedly still not attend road games for the remainder of the playoffs.

John’s return to the arena was a feel-good moment for the Haliburton family and Pacers fans alike, especially as Tyrese delivered a performance for the ages. The Pacers’ star notched 32 points, 12 rebounds, and 15 assists, leading Indiana to a 3-1 series lead over the Knicks and putting them on the cusp of their first NBA Finals appearance since 2000.