Level 1 - Absolute Beginner
Tyrese Haliburton plays basketball for the Indiana Pacers. He was hurt a long time ago. He could not play last season.
On Wednesday night he played again. He scored 23 points. He gave 12 passes that helped his team score.
The Pacers won the game. The score was 123 to 120. Fans were very happy to see him back.
- basketball
- A game where players throw a ball into a high net.
- hurt
- Injured.
- season
- The time of year when a sport is played.
- score
- To get a point in a game.
- point
- One unit of score in a game.
- pass
- To throw the ball to a teammate.
- team
- A group that plays together.
- fan
- A person who loves a sport or team.
Level 2 - Elementary
Tyrese Haliburton came back to the court on Wednesday night. He tore his Achilles, a body part near the heel, in the last game of the 2025 NBA Finals. He missed all of last season.
In the season opener, the Indiana Pacers beat the New Orleans Pelicans 123 to 120. Haliburton scored 23 points and gave 12 assists. His teammate Pascal Siakam scored 30 points, the most in the game.
The Pacers were behind 101 to 93 late in the game. Then Haliburton scored eight of ten team points in just 90 seconds. His three-point play gave Indiana the lead with 1 minute 23 seconds left.
- Achilles
- The strong cord at the back of the ankle.
- court
- The area where basketball is played.
- opener
- The first game of a season.
- assist
- A pass that helps a teammate score.
- behind
- Losing in a game.
- lead
- The state of being ahead.
- tore
- Broke or ripped, past tense of tear.
- teammate
- A player on the same team.
Level 3 - Intermediate
Sixteen months after rupturing his right Achilles tendon in Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals against Oklahoma City, Tyrese Haliburton returned to a regular-season court and helped the Indiana Pacers beat the New Orleans Pelicans 123-120 on opening night. He finished with 23 points and 12 assists, while Pascal Siakam led all scorers with 30.
Indiana trailed 101-93 in the fourth quarter before Haliburton scored eight of the team's next ten points in a 90-second stretch. After Zion Williamson tied the game at 116, Haliburton answered with consecutive baskets, including a three-point play that put the Pacers up 121-118 with 1:23 remaining.
His absence was costly. Without him, Indiana slumped to 19-63 last season, the second-worst record in the league. The team now hosts Dallas in its home opener on Friday, where Haliburton, who had complained that his comeback was not shown on national television at home, will finally play in front of his own fans.
- rupturing
- Tearing completely.
- tendon
- A tough cord that joins muscle to bone.
- trailed
- Was behind in the score.
- stretch
- A continuous period of time.
- consecutive
- Following one after another.
- absence
- The state of being away.
- slumped
- Fell to a much lower level.
- comeback
- A return after a period away or of failure.
Level 4 - Advanced
Tyrese Haliburton's return from a ruptured right Achilles, suffered in Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals against Oklahoma City, ended on Wednesday night in New Orleans with the kind of fourth-quarter flourish that justifies a franchise's patience. His 23 points and 12 assists propelled the Indiana Pacers to a 123-120 victory, with Pascal Siakam's game-high 30 points providing the foundation.
The decisive passage came after Indiana fell behind 101-93. Haliburton produced eight of the Pacers' next ten points in 90 seconds, and after Zion Williamson drew the Pelicans level at 116, he responded on consecutive possessions, converting a three-point play to make it 121-118 with 1:23 to play. Few comebacks from tendon surgery arrive so cleanly, and fewer so quickly.
The stakes of his health are hard to overstate. Without him, Indiana collapsed to 19-63, the second-worst record in the league, an illustration of how completely the offense depends on his playmaking. Having publicly grumbled that his first game back was not on national television at home, he now gets Dallas on Friday in front of his own supporters, with a streak of belief to build.
- flourish
- An impressive final burst of action.
- propelled
- Pushed forward.
- foundation
- The base on which something is built.
- possessions
- Turns that a team has with the ball.
- overstate
- To describe as bigger than it is.
- playmaking
- Creating scoring chances for teammates.
- grumbled
- Complained quietly.
- justifies
- Shows to be right or reasonable.
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