Pacers One Win Away from East Finals, but Carlisle Urges Focus

The Pacers might be just one win away from the Eastern Conference Finals, but don’t expect any champagne or chest-pounding in the Indiana locker room.

Not yet. Not with Rick Carlisle running the show.

After Sunday night’s 129-109 dismantling of the top-seeded Cavaliers in Game 4, Carlisle’s message to his team was as sharp as ever: stay humble, stay hungry.

“We haven’t done anything yet,” he said plainly, despite leading the series 3-1 and coming off the most lopsided first half in NBA playoff history.

A First-Half Avalanche in Indy

Let’s not downplay what happened in Indianapolis. This wasn’t just a win — it was a basketball beatdown. The Pacers walked into Game 4 with a fire lit under them and had the Cavaliers on the ropes before halftime.

By the end of the second quarter, Indiana led 80-39. Yes, 80-39.

That 41-point gap at the half tied the NBA postseason record, set back in 2017 by… the Cavaliers, ironically enough. This time, though, Cleveland was on the wrong side of history.

Everything clicked for the Pacers. Defense. Ball movement. Shot-making. They swarmed the Cavs, forced 14 first-half turnovers, and made Cleveland look lost for long stretches.

“It was one of those nights,” Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton said. “We came in locked in. Physical. Focused. And once we got rolling, we just rode that wave.”

No Need for a Hero — Everyone Ate

Haliburton didn’t need to put up 30. In fact, he had a relatively quiet stat line — 11 points, 5 assists, 5 rebounds — but his fingerprints were still all over the game. And that’s exactly what made this win so scary for Cleveland.

Indiana’s strength was its depth.

Seven Pacers scored in double figures. Pascal Siakam, Obi Toppin, and Myles Turner each dropped 20. The offense was flowing, and even when Cleveland tried to mix things up with the zone defense that gave Indiana trouble in Game 3, the Pacers stayed poised.

In Game 3, Indiana shot just 38% in the second quarter. On Sunday? They lit up the zone for 60%, hitting 3-of-6 from deep against it.

That’s where Carlisle’s coaching chops showed up.

“Coach always brings something different after losses,” Haliburton said. “His brain just works differently. We trust him. And when he turns up in the playoffs, we turn up too.”

Cavs Look Shaken, Not Stirring

Cleveland, meanwhile, looked like a team searching for answers. Coming off a Game 3 win and bolstered by the returns of Evan Mobley, Darius Garland, and De’Andre Hunter, the Cavs were supposed to ride momentum into Sunday.

Instead, they hit a wall.

Garland had a decent night with 21 points, but that was about it. Mobley managed just 10. Jarrett Allen was practically invisible, with 2 points and 2 rebounds. And to make matters worse, Donovan Mitchell exited early with an ankle injury. He’ll get an MRI on Monday.

“They raised their level and we didn’t match it,” Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson admitted. “You try to prepare guys mentally for this, but for whatever reason, they were at another level tonight.”

After a 64-win season and months of dominance, Cleveland is now staring down elimination — and possibly facing Game 5 without their star.

Carlisle Keeps His Team Grounded

Despite the blowout, Rick Carlisle didn’t look thrilled afterward. He didn’t talk about momentum. He didn’t smile much. And he certainly didn’t sound like a coach who thinks this series is over.

“We’re still the underdogs here,” he said. “Nobody picked us. Nobody thought we’d be here. So we’re going to keep playing like we’ve got everything to prove.”

It wasn’t lip service, either. That underdog mindset has been their fuel. From the first round to now, Indiana has played with an edge — the kind of controlled fury that only comes when a team knows it’s being overlooked.

“This game is history now,” Carlisle continued. “We move on. We stay present. We stay sharp. Because the next one? That’s going to be a war.”

Game 5: The Haymaker Awaits

Indiana heads to Cleveland on Tuesday for Game 5 with a chance to close the door on the Cavs’ season. But if you think Carlisle’s going to let his team walk in casually, think again.

“There’s going to be a big haymaker coming,” he said. “We respect the heck out of their fans and what they’ve got going there. We’ve got a lot of work to do.”

It’s the classic coach’s playbook: downplay success, keep the focus, stay paranoid. But with this Pacers team, it’s not just talk. They’ve lived it. They’ve built their run off hustle, effort, and smart basketball — not flash or hype.

And now they’re on the brink of something special.

Source: Pacers to approach 3-1 lead ‘like we have everything to prove’

Indiana’s Identity: Grit Over Glamour

This team doesn’t care about highlight reels or headlines. They don’t need a 40-point night from a superstar to win. What they do need — and consistently get — is buy-in from every player on the court.

Guys like Toppin, Turner, and Siakam stepping up? That’s not a fluke. That’s the system working. That’s culture.

Indiana’s fans felt it too. Gainbridge Fieldhouse was electric from tipoff to final buzzer. The crowd sensed that something was happening — that this isn’t just a playoff run, it’s a movement.

And yet, the team stayed laser-focused.

“You can’t let your guard down in the playoffs,” Haliburton said. “We know what’s coming next game. They’re going to be desperate. We’ve got to be even better.”

One Win Away, But Zero Complacency

A 3-1 series lead is a powerful thing — but it’s also dangerous. One loss can flip the pressure. Carlisle knows that. So do his players. That’s why there was no postgame celebration, no sense of arrival.

Just focus. Film. And prep for another war in Cleveland.

Because as dominant as Game 4 was, the Pacers know none of it matters if they can’t finish the job.

So they’ll keep playing like they’ve got everything to prove — because in their minds, they still do.

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