A rivalry created by a trade scripts a new chapter Sunday when Tyrese Haliburton returns to his old home with the Indiana Pacers to face Domantas Sabonis and the Sacramento Kings.
Haliburton played his first 109 games with the Kings and Sabonis 319 of his first 400 with the Pacers before they were the headliners in a blockbuster trade between the franchises on Feb. 8, 2022.
The Pacers also received Buddy Hield and Tristan Thompson in the six-player swap. Along with Sabonis, the Kings imported Justin Holiday, Jeremy Lamb and a second-round pick.
Haliburton has played four times against the Kings since the trade, making just one return visit. That came on Nov. 30, 2022, when he had nine points and 10 assists in a loss.
Haliburton, the No. 12 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft by the Kings, has gone 1-3 against Sacramento since the deal.
Sabonis also has faced his former team four times since the trade, going 2-2. He put up a triple-double with 21 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in the Pacers’ visit last season, a 126-121 Indiana win accomplished without Haliburton, who sat out because of a strained left hamstring.
Both players enter the encounter in top form, but only one team does.
Haliburton has recorded three consecutive double-doubles, leading Indiana to wins over the Philadelphia 76ers, New Orleans Pelicans and Phoenix Suns.
He took only 3-pointers in Indiana’s most recent success, going 4 for 9 in a 120-111 win at Phoenix on Thursday. He noted afterward that he’s not the reason for the club’s recent upward trend.
The Pacers have seen the returns of Andrew Nembhard and Ben Sheppard from injuries recently, leaving them just one key player (Aaron Nesmith) from being at full strength.
“They’re two of our best on-ball defenders,” Haliburton said of Nembhard and Sheppard. “People are pretending like we’re not missing anybody. It’s good to get our guys back. I can’t wait to get Double-A (Nesmith) back, keep adding to our depth and being ready to go.”
Nembhard contributed 17 and 19 points to the Pacers’ past two wins, while Sheppard returned at Phoenix to record a plus-11 rating in 16 minutes off the bench.
Sabonis has put up seven straight double-doubles, but the last three couldn’t prevent a loss to the Denver Nuggets and a pair of defeats at the hands of the Los Angeles Lakers.
De’Aaron Fox scored 29, 26 and 31 points as the Kings have lost by a total of just 18 points during their losing streak. He said he and his teammates can play a little more free against the Pacers.
“At some point, we have to find a sense of enjoyment playing the game,” Fox said. “Obviously, we all want to win. Everybody needs to do whatever it takes to win. At some point, you have to have enjoyment playing. You enjoy playing with each other, you enjoy going out there and doing the hard things and then comes winning.”