(Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
Tuesday night’s game was one Indiana Pacers fans and players will never forget.
Rick Carlisle’s team had a huge chance to take Game 1 at the TD Garden, and they blew it.
They were almost perfect to storm right back from a 13-point deficit, and they did absolutely everything they could do to let that lead slip right through their fingers.
That’s why NBA analyst Rachel Nichols ripped coach Rick Carlisle and the Pacers for “choking the game away.”
Talking on “Undisputed,” she blamed Carlisle for not calling a timeout to advance the ball and put the game out of reach.
“The Pacers choked this game away and the Celtics took it.”
— @Rachel__Nichols pic.twitter.com/sF9lIwOYMW
— UNDISPUTED (@undisputed) May 22, 2024
However, she also admits that the Boston Celtics did an outstanding job of executing when they had to.
Jaylen Brown is shooting 22% on corner threes in the playoffs, but he still knocked down the shot.
Then, Jayson Tatum, who completely disappeared and had a crucial turnover in the fourth quarter, also took care of business with a big shot to put the game out of reach in overtime.
Nichols congratulated the Celtics for “taking” the game after the Pacers let the door wide open for them to come back.
At the end of the day, you can expect those kinds of miscues and rookie mistakes from guys like Tyrese Haliburton or Andrew Nembhard, but not from a bona fide and proven coach like Carlisle.
Still, the Celtics also deserve credit for taking those punches and bouncing back without allowing their mistakes to get the best of them when it mattered the most.
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