Pacers host Mavericks for Haliburton’s homecoming

Haliburton returns home

The Dallas Mavericks visited the Indiana Pacers on Friday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. The NBA scheduled the game for 7 p.m. ET. It had begun at publication, but the available official and independent pages did not yet provide a reliably captured score. The central storyline is Tyrese Haliburton’s first Pacers home game in 490 days after missing last season with a torn right Achilles. ^{[1] [2]}

Haliburton gave Indiana an encouraging first glimpse of his return in Wednesday’s opener. He recorded 23 points and 12 assists in a 123-120 win over New Orleans, including 13 points in the fourth quarter. The Associated Press reported that he played nearly 34 minutes and helped put Indiana ahead for good late. ^{[3] [4]}

Dallas seeks a response

Indiana entered 1-0, while Dallas was 0-1 after a 128-110 loss to Houston. Cooper Flagg led the Mavericks with 32 points, but Dallas fell behind by 32 at halftime after Houston won the second quarter 38-12. Reuters noted that the Mavericks are working out how to pair Flagg with Kyrie Irving after Irving’s injury absence. ^[2]

The teams entered from opposite opening results: Indiana rallied to win, while Dallas needed a response. For the Pacers, Haliburton’s return offers optimism after a 19-63 campaign without him. For the Mavericks, the question is whether Flagg and Irving can turn individual production into steadier team play. ^{[2] [4]}

The game’s final result, leading scorers and confirmed injury developments remained unknown at publication. This developing report will need the settled box score once the NBA records the result. ^{[1] [2]}

The homecoming gives the game emotional weight, but Haliburton’s workload and performance should be judged from the completed box score rather than the opener alone. Dallas also has only one game of evidence with its current lineup. Friday’s result will provide another data point, not a full-season verdict. ^{[1] [2] [3] [4]}