The Pacers deny having “let go” in the fourth quarter

He did not play in the first round, nor in Game 7 in New York. At the start of the fourth quarter of this Game 2 of the Eastern Conference final, Doug McDermott is there, on the floor, while his team is only 13 points behind (93-80) .

A handful of minutes later, the gap increased to 17 units (99-82), and Pascal Siakam, replaced by Obi Toppin, perhaps did not suspect that he would not return to the game. While Tyrese Haliburton , he was already on the sidelines.

Then, three minutes from the end, Rick Carlisle, who had already brought in Jarace Walker, went to the end of his bench by throwing Kendall Brown onto the field. 13 points separate the two teams again (115-102). Opposite, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are still in play. They will come out with a minute and a half to go.

Resorting to his end of the bench so “early”? “ It was about observing certain players who I thought needed to be seen. McDermott played well. Isaiah Jackson brought a lot of fight. Jalen Smith hasn't had many chances to play in the playoffs, so I wanted to see where he was “, justifies the Pacers coach.

The latter, who did without Aaron Nesmith and Myles Turner for the entire last period, obviously denies having “let go” of the meeting: “ We didn't give up, but it was an opportunity to bring in fresh and energetic guys to fight. They did good things. »

In addition to giving opportunities to others, Rick Carlisle does not hide the fact that it was also about resting executives. “ The guys who had played until then, Pascal was very tired. Aaron had four fouls (editor’s note: Myles Turner in reality) and he was tired. That's all », Adds the coach, whose Pacers lost the period by three small points (33-30) with the production of his men from the bench.