Rick Carlisle Assigns Blame For Pacers Game 4 Meltdown

The Indiana Pacers were so close to taking a 3-1 series lead over the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2025 NBA Finals. But poor execution down the stretch of the game allowed the Thunder to make an epic comeback.

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The series now sits at 2-2, with Game 5 being played back in Oklahoma City. If the Pacers want any chance to win this, they will need much more focus in the next contest.

After the game ended, many people were looking as to see what went wrong for Indiana. But Pacers veteran head coach Rick Carlisle pointed it out fairly easily.

Carlisle mentioned the free-throw shooting discrepancy, but not the number of shots. The head coach simply blamed the missed free throws from his team as the main reason why they lost this game.

“They had 38 free throws, and that was a problem,” Pacers’ coach Rick Carlisle said. “They made 34 out of 38. We had 33 and made 25. They missed four. We missed eight. The difference of four is significant.”

Indiana will need to make sure that it plays much better for the entire 48 minutes in the next game. Heading back on the road tied 2-2 is a tough ask for this Pacers team, but they have shown resilience all postseason long.

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The ending of Game 4 was a disappointment, but this team has the poise to bounce back. Simply, the Pacers let the Thunder off the hook at the end of the game, and Oklahoma City was able to take full advantage.

“We [Pacers] got stagnant… but give them [Thunder] credit, they kept attacking, attacking, and their defense was great down the stretch," Carlisle said.

Game 5 will be played on Monday, June 16, at 8:30 p.m. ET. Both teams will be looking to take a 3-2 series lead and move just one win away from claiming the NBA title.

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For more news and notes on the Indiana Pacers, visit Indiana Pacers on SI.