Rick Carlisle Says Pacers Will Be 'Punching Even Harder' in Game 4 vs. Celtics

Indiana Pacers doesn't believe effort and focus will be issues for his players despite the team staring at a 3-0 deficit in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Carlisle called the Pacers' performance "courageous" in their 114-111 loss to the Boston Celtics.

"Our guys played a great game," he told reporters. "We came up a little short tonight, but we will be back Monday and we will be punching even harder."

Indiana led by as many as 18 points despite missing star guard Tyrese Haliburton, but Haliburton's absence became a bigger issue as the Celtics started storming back in the second half. The Pacers scored just 42 points in the final two quarters.

The series has been much closer than Boston's position would lead you to believe.

Carlisle remains defiant in the face of the Pacers long odds, saying they're "going to be undeterred" and "going to come at them even harder."

But history speaks for itself. No team in the NBA has ever overcome a 3-0 series deficit. The Celtics famously evened the Eastern Conference Finals last year after dropping the first three games, only to run out of gas in Game 7.

Boston is simply a stronger team than Indiana, even with Kristaps Porziņģis nursing a calf injury, and Haliburton suffering a hamstring strain in Game 2 was probably the moment the Pacers were truly toast. According to NBA.com, they've had a minus-5.8 net rating without him on the court in the playoffs.

Effort can only go so far in bridging the obvious talent gap between the two teams in the conference finals.