The Indiana Pacers suffered a gut-wrenching defeat in overtime of Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Boston Celtics, dropping the series opener 133-128 at the TD Garden in Boston on Tuesday, May 21.
Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle took the blame for the loss, as they seemingly had the win at hand during the final minute of regulation.
"I love the way our guys fought in this game, this loss is totally on me. With 10 seconds in regulation, we should've just taken the timeout, advanced the ball, found a way to get it in, made a free throw or two, and ended the game," the 64-year-old tactician told the media in the post-game press conference.
Meanwhile, Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton refused to let his coach take all the blame, noting his turnovers that led to overtime.
"That's not on him... I had two bad turnovers that I feel like cost us the game... I understand he's protecting us, but I'll take that more than he should," the two-time NBA All-Star admitted.
Pacers' disastrous late-game collapse
The Pacers snatched defeat from the jaws of victory after having a chance to ice the game, holding a three-point lead in the final 30 seconds of regulation.
Haliburton proceeded to commit a turnover, but the Celtics missed two chances to cut the lead initially.
However, another turnover by the Pacers led to a game-tying three-pointer by Celtics star Jaylen Brown with 5.7 seconds left in the fourth.
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