486 Days, 23 Points, 12 Assists — Haliburton's Return Changes Everything
GOATIFYFour hundred and eighty-six days separated Tyrese Haliburton's devastating Achilles injury in the 2025 NBA Finals from his next regular-season appearance. His return was not a ceremonial cameo. In New Orleans on Wednesday, October 21, the Indiana Pacers needed him to rescue an opener that appeared to be slipping away, and he responded with 23 points, 12 assists and the decisive stretch of fourth-quarter offense in a 123–120 win over the Pelicans.
Pascal Siakam scored 30, Ivica Zubac supplied a powerful interior presence, and Indiana overturned a six-point deficit entering the final period. The result was dramatic enough without the backstory. With it, the performance became a practical test of whether the Pacers can rediscover the team identity that carried them to the 2025 Finals after a 19–63 season spent without their lead playmaker.
The score matters, but the sequence matters more: Indiana had to regain control of the tempo, turn Haliburton's passing into easier looks for others, and survive New Orleans' late counterpunch. One victory does not erase the risk of an Achilles comeback. It does give Indiana a tangible reason to believe its offense can look familiar again.
A 15–3 Swing Proved This Was More Than a Comeback Ceremony
Indiana trailed 92–86 after three quarters, and New Orleans later pushed the gap to 101–93. In the next 90 seconds, Tyrese Haliburton scored eight of the Pacers' 10 points. The larger burst became a 15–3 run that flipped the scoreboard to 108–104. A team that had spent much of the night reacting was suddenly dictating the pace.
That is the most revealing part of his 23-point, 12-assist return. Haliburton did not simply accumulate assists while others finished easy possessions. He recognized a moment when Indiana needed direct scoring, attacked, then resumed organizing the offense. The Pacers won the fourth quarter 37–28. He finished 8-for-15 from the field and made all five free throws in 34 minutes.
His last regular-season appearance came before the Achilles rupture in Game 7 of the 2025 Finals. The injury kept him out for the entire 2025–26 season, when Indiana fell to 19–63. Returning after 486 days carried a double assignment: prove he could handle NBA speed and show that the Pacers' offense could again run through his decisions.
He became emotional afterward, understandably, but sentiment cannot explain the scoreboard. Haliburton made timely reads and created points when possessions stalled. Obi Toppin's 20 points off the bench show why the return matters beyond one star: Indiana becomes harder to guard when several finishers can exploit the openings its lead playmaker creates.
One night cannot establish how his Achilles will respond across a full schedule. Indiana still needs to watch defensive movement, recovery between games and consistency under fatigue. The immediate question, however — could Haliburton influence a close NBA game at its decisive moment? — received an emphatic answer.
Siakam's 30 Points Gave Indiana a Second Closer
Haliburton supplied the game's emotional center, but Pascal Siakam gave Indiana its most reliable scoring platform. The forward finished with 30 points on 13-for-23 shooting, repeatedly answering New Orleans when the Pacers needed a possession that did not depend on a complicated action. His production mattered because the Pelicans had made the game uncomfortable by halftime.
Siakam and Haliburton pressure defenses in different ways. Haliburton reads movement, shifts the ball and chooses when to accelerate. Siakam can receive it against a set defender, use his footwork and create a shot without requiring the same space. That distinction is valuable late in games, when opponents take away first options and the clock becomes another defender.
Indiana's 2025 Finals run established how effective its movement-based offense could be. Last season's 19–63 collapse showed how much that identity depended on having the right organizer. The opener suggested Haliburton need not score 35 every night. Siakam can take difficult possessions while the guard chooses when to distribute and when to finish.
New Orleans could not focus exclusively on Haliburton's dribble because Siakam was already a consistent threat. Nor could it assume Siakam would hold the ball every time. Changing points of attack helped Indiana score 37 in the final quarter after managing only 18 in the second.
The partnership still needs testing against switching defenses and more physical frontcourts. One game is a limited sample. But the opening-night outline is clear: Siakam's self-created scoring protects Indiana from becoming predictable, while Haliburton's passing can make Siakam's opportunities easier. The Pacers need both to make a meaningful jump from last season.
Zubac and the Supporting Cast Made the Return Work
Indiana's comeback would have been much harder without a dependable presence near the basket. Ivica Zubac finished with 16 points, 15 rebounds and two blocks, giving the Pacers size, second-chance opportunities and a reliable target inside. He was acquired during the previous season, when Haliburton was injured, so the opener was an early meaningful test of how their games fit together.
That pairing has an obvious basketball logic. Haliburton's ability to turn a screen into a passing angle should create chances for Zubac around the rim. Zubac, in turn, gives Indiana a player who can set a physical screen, finish a short pass and help end defensive possessions with a rebound. Those are basic skills, but the difference between executing them consistently and merely having them on a roster can determine whether a fast offense survives against a bigger opponent.
The supporting numbers were encouraging. Obi Toppin scored 20, while Andrew Nembhard added 18 points and nine assists. Those contributions kept the offense from depending solely on the returning star and Siakam. Indiana's best possessions were not necessarily the spectacular ones; they were the sequences where the defense had to account for several threats and the ball reached the right player.
There were imperfections. New Orleans won the second quarter 35–18 and built a 66–56 halftime lead, exposing stretches when Indiana's offensive flow stalled. A strong frontcourt performance did not eliminate every breakdown or guarantee control of the glass for four quarters. It did provide a platform for the late recovery.
The next question is whether Zubac can supply the same interior balance against teams with more size and better defensive coordination. His opening-night line suggests the Pacers have another dependable piece around Haliburton. That matters because a successful return should make the whole team more functional, not merely improve one player's box score.
New Orleans Had the Lead — Then Lost Control
New Orleans has reasons to be frustrated. The Pelicans led 66–56 at halftime, held a six-point advantage entering the fourth and later moved ahead 101–93. Those were not accidental margins. Zion Williamson found ways to attack, Dejounte Murray scored 23, and the home side forced Indiana into a poor second quarter. For most of the evening, the Pelicans had the chance to control the opener.
Williamson finished with 22 points and offered a notable wrinkle by making two three-pointers late in the first half. He had taken only four shots from beyond the arc during the previous season, so even two makes were enough to raise a strategic question: if defenders must respect his outside shot, does that open more room for his drives? It is far too early to declare a shooting transformation, but the attempt to widen his offensive range is worth tracking.
Yves Missi also made an impact on the glass, while New Orleans generated enough offense to force a close finish. The problem came when Indiana accelerated. The Pelicans allowed a 15–3 swing after leading 101–93 and could not fully restore control. Williamson tied the game at 116 with a three-point play, yet Haliburton answered with scores on consecutive trips and Indiana closed out the final possessions.
For New Orleans, the lesson is less about one missed defensive assignment than about maintaining composure when a lead disappears. A team can play three good quarters and still lose if its late offense becomes static or its defense allows the opposing guard to choose every matchup. Indiana's comeback exposed exactly that risk.
Both teams now have a useful early benchmark. The Pelicans must convert strong stretches into complete games. Indiana must avoid needing a rescue mission in the first place. The Pacers host Dallas on Friday, October 23, when Haliburton will play his first regular-season home game since the injury. That will be another emotional occasion — and another opportunity to test whether this opening-night comeback marks the start of a sustainable recovery.
Haliburton's first night back did not produce a flawless Indiana performance. The Pacers lost control for long stretches, were punished in the second quarter and had to make a late escape against a Pelicans team that generated plenty of pressure. That is why the 23-point, 12-assist line is more meaningful than a tidy opening-night box score: it came with the burden of solving problems in real time.
Siakam's scoring, Zubac's rebounding and the support of Toppin and Nembhard kept the comeback from becoming a one-man story. The challenge now is consistency, not proving that Haliburton can still create a memorable fourth quarter. Friday's home opener against Dallas offers the next chance to assess the rotation, the pace and the durability of the partnership.
For one night, though, the simplest fact is also the most compelling: 486 days after his Finals injury, Haliburton was back running Indiana's offense when the game was on the line — and the Pacers won.
