In a post-game confession, Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle took full responsibility for his team’s loss in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Boston Celtics.
Despite a valiant effort from the Pacers, who pushed the Celtics to overtime, Carlisle shouldered the blame for a critical decision late in regulation.
With just 10 seconds remaining in regulation, Carlisle admitted that opting for a timeout could have changed the outcome of the game in favor of the Pacers.
“This loss is totally on me. With 10 seconds in 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,” he said.
