Tyrese Haliburton is back and Braden Smith is cursed at in Pacers preseason opener

AMES, Iowa — The Indiana Pacers kicked off their preseason slate at Tyrese Haliburton‘s alma mater of Iowa State on Wednesday night, beating the Timberwolves, 123-112.

It was Haliburton’s first NBA action since he tore his Achilles in the 2025 NBA Finals, and he had seven points and six assists in 16 minutes.

The Pacers starters played limited minutes in the first half, giving the reserves a chance to make their mark. Jarace Walker had an efficient game with 10 assists on one turnover.

Haliburton played an NBA basketball game for the first time in 472 days, and he did it at his alma mater.

He scored the Pacers’ first two points of the game, then went into a shooting slump of sorts. He found his shot again near the end of the half, though, getting a 3-pointer off a screen from Ivica Zubac and a layup as he muscled through Jonathan Kuminga and Rudy Gobert.

Haliburton didn’t need much time to regain his floor vision, either. He found Aaron Nesmith in the corner in transition for a 3-pointer, then threw another laser to him a couple possessions later in the opposite corner for another triple.

Haliburton looked tired after his stints but that’s not unusual for someone playing their first full-fledged stints. He played minimally in the second half, as did the other starters.

Zubac played just five games for the Pacers following his midseason trade last season because of multiple injuries. Now fully healthy, he’s finding a fit with Indiana.

Zubac had a good early connection with Haliburton, with a well-set screen at the 3-point line to get Haliburton an open shot near the basket in the second quarter. Another good screen got Haliburton open for a 3-pointer later in the quarter.

He showed he could command his way through the paint, evading three defenders to grab a high pass from Walker for a behind-the-back dunk in the second quarter.

Smith, along with the other Pacers rookies, sat on the baseline floor for the entirety of the first half as there were not enough bench seats for the 20-person roster.

He got onto the court for the first time in the third quarter, but not without feeling the entire college basketball experience; he was heavily booed every time he touched the ball for reasons not even he could understand, shrugging to everyone who asked him about it as he came back to the bench for a timeout.

In the fourth quarter, the boos were accompanied by ‘F— Purdue’ chants. One fan in the student section said the boos were because they thought Smith got a roster spot over Tamin Lipsey, an Iowa State guard that was on the Pacers’ Summer League roster but returned to the Cyclones, and another fan said it was because they played Purdue last year and play Purdue again this year.

Through the relentless boos (and eventual “Take out Braden, put in Hali” chants at the end of the fourth quarter), Smith, surrounded by defenders, found Jalen Slawson on a behind-the-back pass for an easy layup. Smith finished the game with three points on 1-of-4 shooting, three rebounds, and five assists.

Chloe Peterson is the Indiana Fever beat reporter for IndyStar. Reach her at chloe.peterson@indystar.com. Get IndyStar’s Indiana Fever and Caitlin Clark coverage sent directly to your inbox with our Caitlin Clark Fever newsletter. Subscribe to IndyStar TV: Fever for in-depth analysis, behind-the-scenes coverage and more.

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