Tyrese Haliburton was heard branding Ryan Rollins a ‘b****’ during the Indiana Pacers’ preseason clash with the Milwaukee Bucks.
The Bucks secured a 128-127 overtime win in what was supposed to serve as a warm-up ahead of the start of the NBA season next week.
But tempers flared inside two minutes at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, with Haliburton losing his cool after being knocked to the floor from behind by Rollins.
Courtside microphones caught the two-time All-Star telling his rival: ‘You a b****! You a b****! Yeah, you heard me: You a b****!’
Haliburton and Rollins had to be separated by teammates before the officials penalized both players. The two teams will face off once more on October 26.
Before then, though, the Pacers will kick off the NBA regular season against the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday night, while Milwaukee faces the Washington Wizards.
Tyrese Haliburton branded Ryan Rollins a ‘b****’ during the Pacers’ clash with the Bucks
The Pacers kick off the regular season against the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday night
Haliburton tore his Achilles during the 2025 NBA Finals, ruling him out for the 2025-26 season
Haliburton is back from an Achilles tendon injury, hoping to help the Indiana Pacers reassert themselves as title contenders.
Haliburton tore his right Achilles during Indiana’s Game 7 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2025 NBA Finals, knocking him out for the entire 2025-26 season.
During his time away, the Detroit Pistons made a dramatic rise to the top of the Eastern Conference regular-season standings, the Bucks traded two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo out of the division and the Cleveland Cavaliers acquired eight-time all-NBA guard James Harden.
Indiana slumped to 19-63 without Haliburton last season. Now that he’s back in the fold, the Pacers want to show they can get right back to where they were a year earlier, when they were a game away from winning their first NBA title.
