"Should make our players' blood boil" - Rick Carlisle unveils unique drive for Pacers to seal win in elimination game vs Celtics

Indiana Pacers coach Rick Carlisle discussed the motivation to win Monday's Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Boston Celtics. Indiana lost 114-111 in Game 3 despite leading for most of the game on Saturday, giving Boston a 3-0 lead, putting the Celtics one win away from the NBA Finals.

Carlisle believes making sure there isn't a trophy presentation for Boston after Game 4 in Indianapolis should be enough motivation for the players.

"There's plenty of reasons to be motivated for this game tomorrow," Carlisle said. "When you’re the head coach of an NBA team, you tend to get information on things, and one thing I just heard in the last few minutes is that the league is making logistical plans for a trophy presentation on our floor tomorrow.

"That’s something that I think should make our players' blood boil and our fans' blood boil."

No team in league history has successfully come back after being down 3-0. Only four teams in that situation have ever forced a Game 7, but all failed to win.

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Pacers coach on not calling a timeout in the fourth quarter

The Pacers had a chance to win Game 3 on Saturday night. During the game's final moments, Indiana had the ball after a missed shot from the Celtics' Jayson Tatum. There were less than 10 seconds on the game clock, and the home team had one timeout remaining, but they decided not to take it.

Eventually, Jrue Holiday displayed his defensive intelligence and got a steal from Andrew Nembhard. After the game, a reporter asked Carlisle about the crucial decision, but he didn't explain it at that time.

"I just watched the ending so you don't need to remind me. I saw everything that happened. Everything," Carlisle said.

In an article by Derek Kramer at iPacers.com, Carlisle said that he trusted his players to create something from a transition play. He said that he wanted the team to execute the offense before letting the Celtics set their defense. He also expressed how he trusts his players in deciding what to do during those moments.