This time, it’s the Pacers who are on the receiving end of an epic comeback. With the thunderous support from the Gainbridge Fieldhouse, the home team led for nearly the entire second half. The Thunder only took the lead with 2:23 to play, finishing the game on a 12-1 run. Naturally, the coach would be unhappy to see his team unable to close out the game. That’s why Rick Carlisle’s post-match comments are eye-openers for all the players on the team, including the superstar, Tyrese Haliburton.

The Indiana Pacers missed all eight of their fourth quarter 3s. That’s the most missed 3s without a make in the fourth quarter by the Pacers all year, regular and postseason. But apart from the shorts falling in, the coach had a problem with the team’s rebounding ability. “Yeah, we got stagnant. Their second shots were a big problem. When you’re unable to rebound, it’s hard to continue to play with pace and tempo.”

In a 7-point Thunder win, the turnovers were even at 16. But the Thunder beat the Pacers 12-7 on offensive rebounds, including 4-1 in the fourth quarter. Rick Carlisle continued, “I haven’t looked at the at the end of the game yet, so I don’t have the blow-by-blow for you. But give them credit. You know, they kept attacking, kept attacking, and their defense was great down the stretch.” At one point, the  Indiana Pacers took their first double-digit lead of the NBA Finals with 2:08 left in the third quarter of Game 4.

Yet, they faltered at the end! The next question to the HC was also regarding the team’s inability to provide buckets for each other. “Rick you all had 20 assists in the first three quarters But only one in the fourth. What do you think caused that?” Carlisle said, “A Lot of the same stuff I was just talking about. You know, an inability to come up with Rebounds, an inability to get key stops was a part of it, and then you know, we just got too stagnant. Usually, the main man for the Pacers in terms of assists had a solid contribution, but not in the closing stages.

With 3:52 left to play, Tyrese Haliburton already had seven assists. As per the Athletic, at the time, the entire Thunder starting lineup has just 4. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has ZERO. But it switched, as the Pacers guard had zero assists in the 4th quarter and went 0-3 when shooting beyond the arc.

Tyrese Haliburton got the coach’s support after a previous result didn’t go their way

It was not just the final quarter when the Thunder dominated the board. 10-7, 11-8, and 12-4 were the team’s total rebounds in Q1, Q3, and Q4, respectively. This win in game 4 for Oklahoma City puts the series at 2-2. Remember the uninspiring game 2 performance from the Pacers, as they failed previously. Even that time the coach did not

After the game, Pacers coach Rick Carlisle tried to diffuse the growing conversation around Haliburton’s underwhelming night. “There’s a lot more to the game than just scoring. Everybody’s got to do more,” he said. Even in this game, Tyrese Haliburton was the fifth-best scorer on the day. SGA had the game high of 35 points, and J Williams had 27 points. Meanwhile, Caruso and Siakam were joint third with 20 points.

The Indiana Pacers have taken their first double-digit lead of the NBA Finals with 2:08 left in the third quarter of Game 4. Since 2000, the team that has won Game 4 in the finals has won the championship 19 times. And of the six teams that lost Game 4 and still won the finals, one was the Celtics last year when they were already up 3-0 in the series. So, both teams have the stats and history to make a statement win.