INDIANAPOLIS – With the Pacers trailing 3-0 to the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals, thanks to two blown leads late in two games, Indiana coach Rick Carlisle vowed vengeance Saturday night.
“Believe me when I tell you, we are going after them,” Carlisle said about the Celtics, after Boston stole a 114-111 win from the Pacers in the closing seconds of Game 3.
Carlisle said the Pacers would “go at” or “after” Boston on at least three occasions during his emotional postgame remarks. No team in NBA history has ever recovered from a 3-0 deficit, and the Pacers could easily be ahead 2-1 in this series if not for some serious late-game mistakes.
“We’re going to be undeterred,” he said. “We’re going to be back here Monday night, looking to extend the series, and we’re going to come at them even harder.”
Carlisle was delayed in getting to the podium at Gainbridge Fieldhouse after his team suffered a crushing defeat in which it led by as many as 18 points, and by eight with just 2:38 left, while his best player was out with a hamstring injury and one of his role players had the game of his life.
But that player, Andrew Nembhard, had the ball stolen from him by Jrue Holiday with 3.3 seconds left and the Pacers down by one. The steal occurred near the Pacers’ foul line and Nembhard ended up on the ground.
Carlisle was incensed, demanding a foul be called.
He snapped, “I just rewatched the ending, so you don’t need to remind me — I saw everything that happened.”
Carlisle said “there were a lot of things out there I disagreed with, that I think any Indiana fan would disagree with,” in an apparent reference to the officiating. A reporter started to follow up, and he interrupted, “everything, everything that happened.”
Nembhard scored a career-high 32 points — regular or postseason — with nine assists while his usual backcourt mate, Tyrese Haliburton, was out with a hamstring strain. T.J. McConnell scored 23 points off the bench, and Pascal Siakam and Myles Turner added 22 points apiece.
Jayson Tatum led the Celtics 36 points, 10 rebounds, and no turnovers. Jaylen Brown scored 24 points and Al Horford added 23 points on 7 3s. Holiday, who missed shootaround with a small fever, added 14 points — including the go-ahead layup and foul shot with 38 seconds remaining — nine rebounds, and three steals.
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(Photo: Maddie Meyer / Getty Images)
