Tyrese Haliburton Surprises Pacers Fan Who Got Pelted By Bags Of Garbage In New York
Because throwing garbage isn't cool, Knicks fans.
After a firefighter was harassed by a mob of New York Knicks fans in New York City, Tyrese Haliburton has stepped up to make things right.
Hans Perez was pelted with garbage over the weekend for wearing a Haliburton jersey outside Madison Square Garden. The Knicks had just defeated the Boston Celtics in Semifinals and are preparing to face the Pacers in the Eastern Conference finals.
Viral footage shows the swarm of Knicks fans heckling Perez and throwing bags full of trash at him as he tried to walk away.
The footage caught the attention of ESPN personality Pat McAfee, who invited Perez to come on his show on Monday to talk about what happened.
But that's not all. Haliburton made a surprise appearance via video call on the show, and the Pacers' star point guard offered to fly Perez and a plus-one to Indiana for Game 4 next week.
"Everybody in our organization wants to make sure you're taken care of," Haliburton told Perez. "All the team's excited to meet you. It's all we've been talking about."
Perez — who showed off a Pacers tattoo on his arm earlier in the interview — was ecstatic over the news. He thanked Haliburton for the invite then gave an enthusiastic "Let's go Pacers" chant.
Even Knicks superman Ben Stiller commended Haliburton for the kind gesture.
"I appreciate this by Haliburton," Stiller wrote on X on Monday. "No one should ever treat fans of any team like this. N.Y. is better than this. And this man is a firefighter."
Of course, the legendary actor couldn't help but finish off the post with a prediction: "#KNICKSIN6."
The Pacers-Knicks series tips off Wednesday, with the first two games taking place in New York before the action goes to Indiana.
It's the first time since 2000 that the Knicks have reached the Eastern Conference Finals. The Pacers made it to the conference finals last season, but were defeated by the Boston Celtics.
This series is going to be electric. Hopefully, both sides can keep their garbage to themselves.