The 2025 NBA Finals matchup is now set in stone after the Indiana Pacers secured a 125-108 win over the New York Knicks on Saturday night.
The Pacers' 17-point win included 31 points from their leading scorer during the playoffs, Pascal Siakim, and 21 points from star point guard Tyrese Haliburton.
Haliburton started his unforgettable day off in an all-black funeral themed outfit then made good on his promise to bury the New York Knicks as he led the Pacers to the victory.
Afterward, video footage surfaced of Haliburton's father John making his way through a crowd of Pacers fans that turned heads on Saturday.
John Haliburton with his son and wife.
John Haliburton (left) with his son Tyrese and wife Brenda on March 1 in Ames, Iowa.
© Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
"John Haliburton gets a hero's welcome on his way back to the court after Indiana Pacers reach NBA Finals," Washington Post writer Ben Golliver wrote on X along with video of the Pacers' famous father getting high fives and hugs.
John Haliburton famously got into a public spat with Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo during the first round of the playoffs.
"As he should," one fan wrote with a yellow heart symbol.
Another put a blue and yellow emoji in the comments as they appeared to be in their feelings over the Pacers father's welcome.
"I would say this...The fans behind us...They deserve to see you holding up this trophy," Kenny Smith of Inside the NBA said to Tyrese Haliburton after the game as an ecstatic group of Pacers fans celebrated on the concourse.
Game 1 of the Finals is scheduled for June 5, 2025 in Oklahoma City.