“Loss is totally on me” - Rick Carlisle takes accountability for late-game disaster in OT loss to Celtics
Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle took responsibility for his team's loss (133-128) against the Boston Celtics on Tuesday night in the first game of the Eastern Conference finals at TD Garden. Game 1 of the Pacers vs. Knicks series opened with a bang, with the match going into overtime. However, the Celtics were able to capitalize on the small mistakes committed by the Pacers in overtime to seize an early lead (1-0) in the series.
Carlisle took the blame for the loss in a post-game conference after the match while praising his players for fighting till the very end.
"This loss is totally on me," he said. "With ten seconds of regulation, we should have just taken the timeout, advance the ball and found a way to get it in and made a free throw or two and ended the game."
Rick Carlisle talked about the final moments of the fourth quarter when Jaylen Brown hit a three from a turnover to tie the game at 117, ultimately leading to the Pacers' loss in overtime due to mistakes made. However, the coach remarked that his players need to concentrate on the way they fought in this game, as they will be back on Thursday for Game 2.
Rick Carlisle receives a $35K fine for "public criticism of the officiating"
Rick Carlisle was slapped with a $35,000 fine during the Eastern Conference semi-finals between the Indiana Pacers and the New York Knicks. The NBA announced the decision to fine the Pacers' coach on May 10. Joe Dumars released a letter declaring the reason for imposing a fine on Carlisle was his "public criticism of the officiating and questioning the integrity of the league and its officials."
The incident occurred after Game 2 between the Pacers and the Knicks. Following the Pacers' 130-121 loss to the Knicks, Carlisle expressed his emotions, alleging that the officials gave preferential treatment to the New York Knicks because they were a "big market team."
In his statements, he demanded fair treatment for his team and other small-market teams as well. Rick Carlisle also submitted video clips of 78 plays for review to the NBA office, claiming that the officials had made incorrect calls or failed to make calls during the game. Aware of the potential consequences, Carlisle took action, and the league responded accordingly.
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