Rick Carlisle reveals Pacers’ ‘killer’ in loss to Spurs

For how good the 2024-25 season was to the Indiana Pacers, their 2025-26 season has been just as brutal, perhaps even more so. Their putridity this season couldn’t even be chalked up anymore solely to Tyrese Haliburton’s absence, as one would think that a team with Pascal Siakam and Andrew Nembhard leading the way wouldn’t be bad enough to lose 11 games in a row.

But that, indeed, is what happened to the Pacers as they suffered their 11th consecutive defeat on Friday in a 123-113 loss to the Victor Wembanyama-less San Antonio Spurs.

After the game, Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle was honest about what killed his team, which was evident considering how well Indiana played otherwise.

“Tough game. Second quarter was the killer. We’ve got to look for more consistency throughout the game. We’ve been playing good teams virtually every night. In our situation, we’re still down a couple guys. Execution has got to be better,” Carlisle said, per Tyler Smith of IndySportsLegends.com.

The Pacers organization knows that the 2025-26 campaign was already a lost one to begin with amid the team’s injury problems. But they have to be disappointed that they’ve sunk this low just months after making it to the NBA Finals.

Pacers’ season from hell continues

The Pacers were not expected to compete for a title after losing some of their key contributors this past offseason, either to free agency or to injury. However, being the worst team in the NBA at 6-29 wasn’t what they expected, and even Siakam has been concerned in recent weeks that this losing stench may end up sticking with them for some time if they don’t take urgent action.

At the very least, the Pacers have their 2026 first-round pick courtesy of a shrewd deal they pulled off with the New Orleans Pelicans to re-acquire their first-rounder.

The post Rick Carlisle reveals Pacers’ ‘killer’ in loss to Spurs appeared first on ClutchPoints.