Rick Carlisle Explains Why He Didn't Call a Timeout Late in Game 3 Loss

The Pacers lost Game 3 and now face a 3–0 deficit in the Eastern Conference Finals.

May 23, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle watches from the sideline as they take on the Boston Celtics during game two of the eastern conference finals for the 2024 NBA playoffs at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports / David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

Three games have been played in the Eastern Conference Finals between the Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers. Indiana has been close, but has yet to notch anything in the win column. Now, the Pacers face a 3–0 deficit, which no team has ever overcome in the NBA playoffs.

The narrative of this series has twice now focused on coach Rick Carlisle opting against calling available timeouts. In Game 1, the Pacers saw an overtime game slip through their fingers, and Carlisle admitted he should have called a timeout.

In Game 3, Carlisle had a timeout when the Pacers got a defensive rebound and pushed down the break with less than 10 seconds remaining and trailing by a point. Carlisle again kept the timeout in his pocket, and it backfired. Andrew Nembhard turned the ball over, which essentially sealed the win for Boston.

This time, Carlisle did not take the blame in his postgame presser. He had a reason for not calling the timeout, and it's tough to argue against:

Carlisle on not calling timeout: "I trust our players to create a better shot than calling a timeout and having them set their defense."

— Dustin Dopirak (@DustinDopirak) May 26, 2024

In the end, Carlisle felt the best option was to empower his players to find a shot opportunity and trust them rather than calling a timeout and resetting everything. That might be true, but a creative last-second play that nearly sent the game to overtime seems to prove the point for those who wished the timeout was called: Clearly, Carlisle can draw up or select a good play.

In the end, it has to be onto Game 4 for the Pacers. They now have no room for error.