AP: Tyrese Haliburton Scores 23 in His Return From a Ruptured Achilles

A long way back to one night

Tyrese Haliburton scored 23 points with 12 assists in his first game in more than 16 months as Indiana beat New Orleans 123 to 120, The Associated Press reported. Thirteen of those points came in the fourth quarter.

Why the opener got the attention

He ruptured his right Achilles tendon in Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals and missed the whole 2025 to 26 season. He cried in a courtside interview afterward, the AP said.

What the box score settles

The result and his roughly 34 minutes are on the record. Whether he holds that level across a full season is a question one night cannot answer.