Pacers HC Rick Carlisle Inadvertently Blames Lakers For Loss to Nuggets

The Indiana Pacers dropped a tough game at the hands of the Denver Nuggets on Monday, snapping a win streak. It was the second game of a back-to-back and Indiana just couldn't muster up enough to get the win.

After the game, head coach Rick Carlisle seemed to somewhat blame the Los Angeles Lakers for how the Nuggets played. Denver was coming off a big loss to the Lakers over the weekend and they came out determined to grab a win.

"It was just a rough game," Carlisle said. "They're great at what they do. It's a rough situation being back-to-back with them coming off a tough loss on national TV two nights ago, but that's just how things are in this league."

The Nuggets had been embarrassed against the Lakers and the Pacers just happened to be next in line.

The Pacers did what they could to fight off the Nuggets but it wasn't enough. The team was coming off a win over the Los Angeles Clippers the night before so Indiana looked a little flat.

Nuggets star Nikola Jokic dominated the Pacers, giving them fits all night. After the game, Pacers star guard Tyrese Haliburton praised the big man, giving him his flowers.

"Obviously, it's a very unique style of basketball," Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton said. "His vision is amazing. He's an amazing playmaker. He's the type of guy that if you mess up a defensive coverage, he's going to find it and expose it. There's not many times you can make a mistake and him not figure that out. You see his numbers, 19 assists, that's unbelievable for a guy his size. What he's done in our league, what he continues to do is second to none. He's unbelievable. I felt like every time I made a mistake, he made me pay."

The Pacers now hold a record of 32-24 for the season, sitting in fifth place within the Eastern Conference standings. Indiana will try to regroup and get back on track when they face off against the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday.

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