'We are going after them,': Down 3-0, Pacers vow to go all out to extend East finals

INDIANAPOLIS -- Rick Carlisle used his post-game press conference to project defiance and also ask for it from his players and the Pacers' fanbase.

The Pacers had just entered the territory from which no NBA team has ever escaped -- a 3-0 series deficit in a best-of-seven playoff series -- and had arrived there in particularly soul-crushing fashion. With an exquisite first half in All-NBA point guard Tyrese Haliburton's absence with left hamstring soreness, the Pacers built an 18-point lead and still led by eight with 2:38 to go. They saw that lead disappear quickly against the NBA's best team, however, and missed out on two opportunities to take the lead back in the final minute before losing 114-111 to the No. 1 seed Boston Celtics at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals on Saturday night.

Carlisle insisted -- initially without prompting -- that his team would rage against the dying of the light of a season in which it has already surpassed expectations by returning to the NBA's final four for the first time since 2014 after finishing in the lottery the last two years. He ratcheted the defiance up a notch when asked why he believed his team is equipped to achieve what zero NBA teams and only the 2004 Boston Red Sox and four NHL teams have ever accomplished in major North American sports. He noted that the Pacers have to first think about just winning Game 4 on Monday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse to send the series back to Boston for Game 5, but said it is Indiana's definitive intention to do that.

"We have to look at what's in front of us," Carlisle said. "We have the best fans in the NBA here. We have the greatest basketball building on the planet and we have another game in front of them to go after these guys. And believe me when I tell you, we are going after them."

There were still questions remaining in the queue at that point, but Carlisle stood up, crumpled up a piece of paper and said, "I'm done," walking off the podium with dramatic effect.

The players who followed Carlisle to the podium did not show quite as much fire in the moment, which was more than understandable considering how much energy they'd just spilled putting themselves in position to have their hearts ripped out.

With Haliburton out, the Pacers played to the strengths of the players who remained and did so almost as well as they could possibly ask for, especially in the first half.

Point guards Andrew Nembhard and T.J. McConnell pushed the pace, attacked off the bounce and dared the Celtics to get in their way. The two players manning Haliburton's position combined for 55 points 15 assists and 13 rebounds with Nembhard scoring a career-high 32 points. Center Myles Turner sought out opportunities to post up the smaller guards the Celtics were using to defend him and he punished them for thinking they could stop a 6-11 big man. He finished with 22 points. And forward Pascal Siakam bullied the defenders who tried to guard him, getting around them and through them with drives out of post-ups while also hitting fadeaways and short jumpers. He also scored 22 points

At halftime, the Pacers had made 28 of 44 field goals (63.6%) including 15 of 22 (68.2%) in the second quarter. They had 42 paint points on 21 of 30 shooting in the lane, they had made 5 of 6 long 2-point shots outside the paint and had attempted just eight 3-pointers, making three. Nembhard, McConnell, Turner and Siakam made 25 of 38 shots (65.8%) and scored 63 of the team's 69 points. They'd also dominated on the glass, grabbing 21 rebounds to the Celtics' 10 and held Boston below its average efficiency at 1.16 points per possession.

And even the second half, when the Pacers' shooting magic seemed to dissipate, they continued making things hard on Boston. The Pacers were 10 of 26 from the floor in the third quarter and 0 of 9 from 3-point range, but the Celtics were 7 of 22 and 2 of 13. Boston finally went 11 of 19 in the fourth and rallied back from that eight-point deficit with 2:39 to go, but until then the Pacers matched paint-oriented offense with tough defense. The Pacers ended up outscoring the Celtics 68-40 in the paint and it was only thanks to free throws and 3-point shooting that the Celtics managed to pull it out.

"It sucks," Siakam said. "I thought we played well for periods of time. Definitely a tough one. We had a lot of energy. Guys came out defending well, running well. We just didn't have it in that fourth quarter, didn't have enough."

Nembhard seemed to take it particularly hard. He appeared to fight tears and win the battle, making sure none of the liquid that welled up in his eyes noticeably escaped in front of the media, but it's notable because he's not usually the emotional type.

For most of the evening he'd played spectacular basketball, authoring a performance that goes down with his 31-point effort in a win over Golden State in December of 2022 among the very best of his career. He made 12 of 21 field goals and 4 of 7 3-pointers on a night when McConnell made the team's only other 3-pointer and didn't do that until late in the fourth quarter. Nembhard hit three big shots in the fourth quarter before missing an open but tough jumper with about 34 seconds to go. He had another chance to give the Pacers the lead with about five seconds left when he tried to muscle past six-time All-Defensive team pick Jrue Holiday but had the ball stolen away with a masterful swipe.

Nembhard described that play with as few words as he could possibly use.

"I was trying to get a shot up," he said. "I lost the ball. Slipped. Turnover."

The Pacers have less than 48 hours to move past the stinging defeat and to summon a performance that will at least force a Game 5. They will, however, have plenty of motivation to do so.

It's possible they could have Haliburton back as Carlisle would not rule that out in pre-game. They could be playing in Gainbridge Fieldhouse for the final time this season, a place where they had won 11 straight games including all six of their playoff home games going into Saturday night. And even though most of these Pacers will probably be around for next season and their championship window only starting to crack open, there are bound to be at least a few personnel changes in the offseason, so they still don't want Monday to be this group's final game.

"We have to give everything we have," Siakam said. "Obviously, to this point, we've had an incredible season and nobody wants to see it end. We're going to fight to the end. For us it's just, 'Let’s get one game.' We can't look ahead. Whatever is in front of us doesn't matter. We have to focus on the next game and give everything we have to win that game."

Whether the Pacers are equipped to make history or not, they are generally well equipped to deal with disappointment by going out and winning the next game. They were 23-12 after losses in the regular season. This series marks the first time they've lost three games in a row since Jan. 30-Feb. 2. They've only lost four in a row once from Dec. 13-18. They won two elimination games against the Knicks to win that series in seven games.

"This group, the way they're battling, we're going to come at these guys harder on Monday," Carlisle said. "And our fans need to come out and they need to be louder than they've ever been. And we've gotta extend this series and we gotta get back on the plane for Game 5. That's what we gotta do."

And even if this series does end in Game 5 in Boston, it would still mean something for the Pacers to take it there. The goal for this season was to get to the playoffs for the purpose of being tested and pushed and to stay in as long as possible to get the sense of what they'll need to become a great postseason team. There's still something to be gained by playing one more game, winning one more time with their backs against the wall and then getting one more chance to do it again on the road.

"Obviously this one stings, but there's no guy in this locker room who's packed it in," McConnell said. "We're gonna try to get one here and extend this series and go back to Boston and try to make things difficult. There's no guy in this locker room who's gonna quit. I'll tell you that much."

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Carlisle, Pacers project defiance despite falling behind 3-0 to Boston