Tyrese Haliburton's Dad Denies Cursing At Giannis, We Said 'I Love You!'

Tyrese Haliburton's father denies he cursed at Giannis Antetokounmpo during their heated exchange after the Pacers-Bucks playoff series wrapped, insisting it didn't happen, saying they actually exchanged "I love yous" on the court.

The Pacers star's dad, John, spoke with TMJ4 to tell his side of the story ... recalling the moment The Greek Freak confronted him after waving a towel featuring Tyrese's face in front of him on the court after the Bucks' season-ending loss to the Pacers on Tuesday.

Antetokounmpo, during his post-game press conference, relayed that John was droppin' f-bombs while waving the towel in his face, describing the moment as "very disrespectful."

However, Pops claims he never cursed at the NBA champ, explaining it's not something he believes in ... nor condones.

"Those who know me know I do not swear," John said, "Let that be known. I do not swear!"

In fact, John says he and Giannis buried the hatchet during the exchange, even saying "I love you" to one another, before the Bucks star gave him a thumbs-up and walked to the tunnel.

"They won't show that on social media," John said. "They only showing that they think we was so upset that we wanted to fight."

"We said we loved each other, just like he said in his press conference, we got our understanding. We good."

John says he hates that the incident has taken away from his son's big moment on the court, adding that the attention should be on the Pacers' playoff series win.

It's the second year in a row Indiana beat Milwaukee to advance to the Conference Semifinals.

The Pacers will face the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday in round 2 of the NBA Playoffs. They're significant underdogs.