The Indiana Pacers thoroughly trounced the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday during Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. The Pacers held the lead for the entire game, taking a 38–22 lead at the end of the first quarter and extending it to an astounding 80–39 by halftime.
The final score was 129–109, but that doesn't reflect how dominant Indiana was throughout the night. The Pacers removed their starters well before the end of the game, and two days after the Cavaliers beat them by 22 points, the Pacers bounced right back with an overwhelming victory.
Though the Pacers now take a 3-1 lead in the series off a resounding win, coach Rick Carlisle isn't getting comfortable yet. After the win, Carlisle insisted that they "haven't done anything yet" and stated that he plans for the team to play like they have "everything to prove."
"We haven't done anything yet," Carlisle said after the game. "We were a pretty significant underdog in every game we've played in that series and that will continue until the end. We’re going to keep approaching this like we have everything to prove. We know people don’t believe in us, so we're just gonna stay in the fight and keep fighting. All things about the scores and all that is meaningless. This game is now history. We've got to stay in the present moment as much as we can, try to maintain an edge."
"We haven't done anything yet."
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) May 12, 2025
Rick Carlisle says the Pacers "have everything to prove" despite blowing out the Cavs in Game 4 ✍️ pic.twitter.com/6pb4R2uGqv
Indiana has certainly proven that they are legitimate threats, especially after they dominated the No. 1 seed in the conference and grabbed a 3-1 series lead. They are one win away from returning to the Eastern Conference finals for the second straight season, but Carlisle doesn't want his players to get ahead of themselves at this point.
The Pacers will look to close out the series during Game 5 on Tuesday, which will tip off at 7:00 p.m. ET.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Rick Carlisle Explains Why Pacers Still Have 'Everything to Prove' After Blowout Win vs. Cavs.
