Pacers' Rick Carlisle Calls Out Team for 'Abysmal' Blown 19-Point Lead vs Bucks

The Indiana head coach pulled few punches in unpacking his club's late-game home collapse.

Dec 27, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle watches from the sideline as they take on the Boston Celtics at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images / David Butler II-Imagn Images

On Tuesday night, the Indiana Pacers built up a commanding 19-point advantage midway over the visiting Milwaukee Bucks midway through the game's third quarter. An appreciative Gainbridge Fieldhouse home crowd appeared delighted that the club seemed to be on the cusp of returning to a .500 record just in time for 2025.

And then the Pacers fell apart, settling for outside shots and ceding lots of defensive ground to the Bucks on the other end. The Bucks outlasted Indiana, winning 120-112 in the matinee battle.

After the game, head coach Rick Carlisle spoke with gathered reporters to unpack his club's disastrous second-half collapse, via The Indianapolis Star.

"Games aren't 30 minutes long," Carlisle said. "So in the last 18 [minutes], [we were] absymal, and we all own it. We lost our aggression, we lost everything that got us a pretty significant lead, and gave them a great opportunity to not only get back in the game but win the game. And that's what happened. So [we're] going to have to learn some hard lessons from this and get ready to bounce back."

The defeat dropped Indiana to a 16-18 record on the season, while improving Milwaukee to 17-14 on the year. The Pacers are now a still-good 8-6 at home, while the Bucks are still below .500 (6-9) on the road.

Two-time league MVP power forward Giannis Antetokounmpo praised second-year Bucks head coach Doc Rivers with helping his club rally to secure the team's comeback victory, per Eric Nehm of The Athletic.

"Doc," Antetokounmpo said, when asked to pinpoint why the club didn't give up while down big in the bout's third frame. "He said the same thing he said in Brooklyn. Gotta fight through this one... They're going to let us back in the game. And like when a coach says that and then you start fighting and you see it goes from 19 to 15. And then it goes to 11. And then it goes to 7. And then it goes... it just keeps giving you that dopamine hit. And you're like, 'OK, fight a little bit more. Fight a little bit more.' And all of a sudden, you look up and it's a tie game. And now when you're there, you're like, 'We should just win the game. We're already here. We should just play a little bit more hard."

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