Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle addressed the media following Sunday night’s 123-107 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, stressing that another sluggish start doomed his team in Game 2 of the NBA Finals.
“Another bad first half. Obviously it was a big problem,” Carlisle said. “You can’t be a team that’s reactive and expect to be successful or have consistency.”
The Thunder opened up a 59-41 halftime lead, capitalizing on Indiana’s lack of pace and execution. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 34 points to lead all scorers, while the Pacers failed to produce a 20-point scorer for the second consecutive game.
Asked if Oklahoma City’s use of bigger lineups—including Isaiah Hartenstein and Chet Holmgren—played a role in the result, Carlisle acknowledged the impact without singling out any specific adjustment.
“I don’t know if there was any lineup that they used that wasn’t impactful for them,” he replied.
Tyrese Haliburton struggled to establish a rhythm early but managed 17 points and six assists. Still, Carlisle emphasized that scoring alone doesn’t define a player’s value to the team.
“Everybody’s got to do more. Starts with the best players—Tyrese and Pascal and Myles,” he said. “People shouldn’t just look at his points and assists and judge how he played.”
The Pacers were once again stifled in the paint, finishing with just 34 points inside—a mirror of their Game 1 total. Carlisle credited the Thunder’s interior defense and outlined the difficulty in generating high-quality looks against them.
“They were the best in the league during the year at keeping people out of there,” he noted. “It’s a tough task… there weren’t enough [good stretches attacking the paint].”
Oklahoma City’s depth also proved decisive. Alex Caruso and Aaron Wiggins combined for 38 points off the bench, swinging the momentum during a second-quarter run that broke the game open. Carlisle highlighted the importance of role players and the crowd’s influence on the outcome.
“I thought their crowd was exceptionally great,” he said. “As we go home, we’re going to need our crowd to be just like this crowd was.”
Pressed on his decision to remove the starters with over three minutes left, Carlisle offered a blunt explanation.
“NBA coaching. Sometimes you have to make tough decisions,” he said.
The Pacers will look to regroup ahead of Game 3 on Wednesday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, their first home Finals game in 25 years. The series is tied 1-1.
