Rick Carlisle reveals what doomed Indiana against the Rockets
2025-26 IThe Indiana Pacers may be having a nightmare seasonbut lately they have been playing noticeably better basketball even if it hasn’t resulted in many wins. On Monday night, they pushed a Kevin Durant-less Houston Rockets team to the limit, keeping up with them throughout the game, but ultimately falling short, 118-114.
They had a golden opportunity to come back towards the end of the game; Alperen Sengun, despite having a monster nighthe missed two free throws with the Pacers down by three with less than 10 seconds left in the contest. However, in what would be the story of the night, the Rockets got on the offensive board and Amen Thompson sank a pair of free throws, sealing the game in the Rockets’ favor.
After the game, the head coach of the Pacers Rick Carlisle regretted his team flaws on the glass and their incompetence to keep the Rockets off the foul line where they scored 31 easy points (on 37 attempts).
“(It was) pretty obvious that rebounding and the free throw line were two big factors in the game,” Carlisle said, per Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star . “They’ve got guys who are very good jumpers to begin with. They’ve got guys who are tenacious after the ball.”
The Rockets had a total of 56 rebounds (19 offensive) that night. Meanwhile, all the Pacers could muster were 33 boards (seven on the offensive end).
Pacers need center, stat
The rumor mill has shown that it is The Pacers were in the market for a trade for a long-term start center; they reportedly focused on someone like Yves Missy, who was benched by the New Orleans Pelicans.
The way the Rockets destroyed the Pacers on the glass, despite being without a notable offensive threat, Steven Adams speaks highly of how desperate they must be to find a long-term successor to Myles Turner.
2026-02-03 03:43:00
