On Thursday Night, the Pacers arena and Indiana fans erupted with joy as All-Star Tyrese Haliburton rejoined the Pacers starting lineup for the first time in 10 games. After being sidelined with knee and elbow sprains, Haliburton made his triumphant return against the Los Angeles Lakers to the delight of his teammates and the Indiana crowd.

The news of his All-Star selection had traveled quickly to the crowd, announced at the end of the first quarter of the game. At that point, Haliburton had already earned 11 points and fans knew they were in for a great evening.

Haliburton, the 12th overall pick in 2020, has sparked the Pacers to a competitive start to the season, despite many doubt pre-season predictions. Averaging 20.2 points and a league-leading 10.2 assists per game while shooting 48 percent overall and 39.9 percent from