MILWAUKEE (AP) 鈥� Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton said a fan directed a racial slur at his younger brother during Game 1 of an Eastern Conference first-round playoff series with the Milwaukee Bucks.
鈥淢y little brother in the stands the other day was called an N-word,鈥� Haliburton said after the Pacers鈥� over the Bucks on Tuesday night. 鈥淚t was important for us as a family to just address that. That was important for us to talk about because that didn鈥檛 sit right with anybody in our family. It鈥檚 just been important to have my family here right now, and my little brother鈥檚 handled that the right way.鈥�
The Bucks were asked about Haliburton's comments after Tuesday's game.
鈥淎n arena guest services representative reported that during Sunday鈥檚 game a few guests were not sitting in their correct seats,鈥� a Bucks spokesman responded. "The guest services representative asked the group to move one section over to their correct seats. Then, one of the individuals in the group claimed to the representative that a person sitting in front of him had used a derogatory term toward him. The accused person denied the accusation. The group moved to their correct seats and no further incident was reported.
鈥淲e take our fan environment extremely seriously and are committed to providing a safe and secure experience.鈥�
Haliburton was making his playoff debut in his home state. He grew up and went to high school in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, about 90 miles northwest of Milwaukee.
The Bucks had beaten the Pacers on Sunday before Indiana evened the series Tuesday. Game 3 is Friday at Indianapolis.
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AP NBA:
Steve Megargee, The Associated Press
