It pays to be loyal.
Indiana Pacers fan, Hanz Perez, received the surprise of a lifetime after a video of him being attacked by New York Knicks fans went viral.
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In the video, Perez is wearing a Tyrese Haliburton jersey and is being taunted and openly attacked by a mob of Knicks fans.
After beating the Boston Celtics in Game 6 to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals against the Pacers, Knicks fans took to the streets to celebrate and Perez was caught up in the hectic crowd.
Bags of garbage were hurled in Perez’s direction, while others appeared to be used to hit the Pacers fan as he also faced a torrent of verbal abuse by a handful of people.
Knicks fans have been as passionate and excited for their team this year as any fanbase of a professional sports team has been in a very long time.
There’s a difference between bad blood and talking trash versus actually throwing trash repeatedly at someone – but Perez will have the last laugh, at least until the Eastern Conference Finals result is in.
Haliburton and the Pacers saw the video and surprised Perez with a heartwarming gesture on Monday morning.
Perez was appearing on The Pat McAfee Show to tell his story, when Pacers superstar Haliburton appeared as a surprise guest.
But it didn’t stop there, as Haliburton invited to fly Perez and a guest out to Indianapolis for Game 4, and put him up in a hotel, and give him tickets to the game.
“I want to personally bring you and a plus one out here to come to Game 4 here in Indiana,” Haliburton said.
“I’ll bring you guys out here, put you guys up, get you guys seats to the game.
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“The Pacers, everybody in our organization wants to make sure you’re taken care of, the team is excited to meet you.
“That’s all we’ve been talking about, everybody’s seen the video.
“We want to bring you out here, I’m really excited.”
Perez was stunned by the offer and told Haliburton if he could make it work with his work (Perez is a firefighter), then he would absolutely take the offer.
After walking the NYC streets in the jersey of the Knicks next opponents, Perez saw the ugly side of the sport but Haliburton and the Pacers have now shown him how sport can also do great things.
Haliburton and the Pacers have looked like one of the best teams in the postseason thus far.
In the first round they swiftly took care of Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks in five games, and then stunned Donovan Mitchell and the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers in five games to advance from the semifinals.
It is the second straight year the Pacers have found themselves back in the Eastern Conference Finals.
And this time around, they will be going up against their old rivals, in the Knicks.
A trip to the Finals is on the line, and Perez is now going to get a chance to watch his favorite team inch closer to hoisting the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
The Pacers have not been to the NBA Finals since Larry Bird led the 2000 crew past the Knicks and into a showdown with familiar foes, the Los Angeles Lakers.
Waiting for them in the Finals will be either the Oklahoma City Thunder or the Minnesota Timberwolves who will lock horns in the West.
