After a tough night for a Pacers fans in New York, one fan’s bad experience turned into something pretty amazing, thanks to Tyrese Haliburton.
Hans Perez, a die-hard Indiana Pacers fan and firefighter, became a target outside Madison Square Garden after the Knicks Game 6 win over the Celtics on Friday.
Perez was followed on the streets by a large crowd of Knicks fans who started heckling him and throwing garbage at him – the whole incident was caught on camera and is doing the rounds on social media.
Trashy ass fanbase pic.twitter.com/bguL2psrPH
— Yeah Yeah! (@YeahYeahOkBro) May 17, 2025
But Haliburton wasn’t about to let that slide. On The Pat McAfee Show, he surprised Perez with an invitation to Game 4 in Indiana.
And not just any tickets he and the Pacers are flying Perez out, putting him up in a hotel, and giving him VIP treatment.
“Everybody in our organization wants to make sure you’re taken care of,” Haliburton told Perez during the show. “We’d love to fly you out to Indy for Game 4. Get you right, hotel, everything. We’re all excited to meet you. You’ve been the talk of the locker room.”
The moment was emotional for Perez, who was clearly shocked and grateful. And fans around the league took notice, even Knicks superfan Ben Stiller tweeted his support, writing: “This man is a firefighter. The fans who did that are not real fans. Respect to Haliburton for making things right.”
The first game in the Eastern Conference Finals between the Pacers and Knicks will take place on Wednesday 21st May at Madison Square Garden, while Game 4 that the fan will attend is on Tuesday.
READ MORE: What We Know About the NBA Conference Finals – Presented by neds