rick carlisle pacers
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Rick Carlisle and the Indiana Pacers took a 1-0 lead in the 2025 NBA Finals on a stunning game-winning shot by Tyrese Haliburton.
After a stunning game-winning shot by Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton secured a Game 1 victory in the 2025 NBA Finals, Rick Carlisle had a simple explanation for how his team came from behind to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder.
“We just had to hang in,” Carlisle told reporters after the 111-110 victory in Oklahoma City unexpectedly put the underdog Pacers up 1-0 in the series. “The first half was rough. Nineteen turnovers. The good thing was it was only 9 points and so we were within reach of still being in the game. We won the third quarter by 3, which was progress and then they went up 15 and we just said, ‘Hey, let’s just keep chipping away at the rock.'”
Carlisle added, “You’ve just got to keep pounding the rock and just chip away and hang in. We’ve got a lot of experience in these type of games and our guys have a real good feel for what it’s all about. Giving ourselves a chance. And we got fortunate, but made plays.”
Rick Carlisle Said ‘We Haven’t Been Celebrating a Whole Lot With Anything’
Carlisle said about the postgame locker room, “We haven’t been celebrating a whole lot with anything. Some of that is our experience last year, some of it is Pascal (Siakam) having been through this kind of a run and getting to the Finals before. We know we have a lot of work to do and we have to play a lot better.”
The Pacers were swept by the Boston Celtics in the 2024 Eastern Conference Finals in 2024. Siakam, the 2025 Eastern Conference Finals MVP, won the NBA Championship with the Toronto Raptors in 2019.
“A real even-temper after the game,” Carlisle said. “Now there’s two days between the first two games instead of a 13-day series with New York, this is day 1 of 17 days. So this is going to be a long journey and a lot going on, so we’re just going to keep our eye on the ball and keep focusing on one another.”
The Pacers Had to Rally From a 57-45 Halftime Deficit
The Pacers came back from a 57-45 halftime deficit and outscored the Thunder by 10 in the fourth quarter, despite going down by 15.
Carlisle said that after halftime, “They were getting to the rim a lot, the turnovers were the first thing that we talked about. It seemed like we were doing a good job on the boards, but they had 20 more shots than we did in the first half. That was really fool’s gold too. It was just, ‘Hit the reset button, let’s go whistle to whistle in the third quarter, try to chip away at it and try to hang in.'”
Carlisle added, “We’ve just got to be very much present in the moment and understand what this is all about. This is all about keeping poise and at the same time having a high level of aggression. And those two forces fly in the face of each other a bit.
“You know, this arena is madness. From a road perspective, the decibels were insane. There’s a lot going on. Grateful to have a chance to hang in and give ourselves a chance at the end, but now we’ve got to keep our eye on the ball.”
Game 2 is scheduled for Sunday, June 8, at 8 p.m. in Oklahoma City.