“Amazed by how lifeless the Pacers were tonight…. Maybe the Pacers were thinking, “We can just finish ’em off at home.” They’d better,” wrote Skip Bayless on X after the Indiana Pacers’ Game 5 loss against the New York Knicks. With a 3-1 lead, the matchup presented a chance for the Indiana Pacers to close down the series and earn a spot in the NBA Finals for the first time since 2000. That too at Madison Square Garden! Instead, Jalen Brunson and Co. had other plans, fighting back with a 111-94 win that sent a clear message: the series isn’t over yet. Yes, teams have only come back from a 3-1 deficit seven times in the last quarter century. But it has happened. And which is why Rick Carlisle is already focused on making sure this Pacers squad doesn’t end up on the wrong side of that history.

In his post-game presser, Carlisle was asked about Tyrese Haliburton’s off-night — just seven shot attempts from the floor. Did the Pacers need their star to be more aggressive? “Yeah,” Carlisle admitted, before adding nuance: “We…. as a team, we have to be aggressive, and we have to have a level of balance. I mean, you know, I’ll look at it. There’s more things I’m going to have to do to help him. And so, you know, I’ll take responsibility for that, and we’ll see where we can improve.”

And there was plenty that needed “improving.”

Compared to Game 4, the Indiana Pacers came out looking flat—the shots weren’t falling, and the offense lacked its usual punch. They shot just 40.5% from the field and hit only a third of their threes, a noticeable dip from the sharper showing in their previous outing. But the real backbreaker? 20 turnovers! Nearly double what they had last time (11), giving the Knicks all the breathing room they needed. And Tyrese?

Just one game removed from a 32-point, triple-double night, he managed just eight points on 2 of 7 shooting, missed both of his attempts from deep, and even though he went 4 of 5 from the line, it wasn’t nearly enough to make a comeback. While Tyrese Haliburton’s issues certainly need to be fixed, he would also benefit if the rest of the team performed well, too. Therefore, along with taking blame for his own actions, Rick Carlisle also tried to make sense of the team’s locker room mentality.

“We obviously didn’t play with the level of force that we needed to. Uh, we lost the rebound battle, we lost the turnover battle. We didn’t shoot well. They had a lot to do with it, so give them credit, and we’re going to have to play much better,” Rick Carlisle added.

According to Carlisle, “To start the game, we just didn’t have the right level of force, the right level of attitude necessary, you know, in this environment. And so, you know, it was a bad start, we never had a lead in the game. And so, you know, there were a multitude of things that were going wrong, and there were time, there were stretches during the game where we got a little bit of traction, but never enough.”

It’s a familiar stance from Carlisle — win or lose, he rarely singles out individuals.

Rick Carlisle refused to give all credit to Tyrese Haliburton after Game 4 win: “Really tired about talking about individual stats.”

In fact, after Haliburton’s Game 4 explosion (32 points, 12 rebounds, 15 assists, with 5 made threes)—a record-shattering performance that showed what the Oklahoma City Thunder should expect if the Pacers reach the Finals—the coach didn’t spend much time on the stat line at all.

“I know Ty did some historic stats stuff tonight. That’s great, but, you know, it’s tough talking about stats when it’s such a team thing right now. So, happy for him. It’ll get celebrated on all the networks, stuff like that. But in our world right now, it’s day 7 of 13, and tomorrow’s day eight. And, we gotta just keep our eye on the ball and keep focusing on each day,” the Pacers coach said during the presser after Game 4.

Yikes! However, at the same time, completely fair. Rick Carlisle wasn’t unhappy that Haliburton was getting the spotlight. He was just offering a blunt perspective. He was giving credit where he felt it was due. Sure, Tyrese Haliburton led the scoring effort with a major points total, but Pascal Siakam wasn’t that far behind with his 30 points either. On top of that, Bennedict Mathurin scored 20 points, while Aaron Nesmith made 16.

Therefore, Carlisle wasn’t in the wrong to shift the conversation away from individual accomplishments, and back to what matters most—winning. One does not win through just a single player in basketball. Teamwork matters in winning as much as losing.

Hence, Carlisle wasn’t willing to let Haliburton have all the glory for Game 4, just like he wasn’t willing to let him have all the blame for Game 5. With any hope, the lessons about aggressiveness the team takes from Game 5 are carried forward in Game 6, so that the Indiana Pacers can close down the series once and for all.