'We're going to fight to the end'

Pacers determined to make history despite 3-0 deficit

- MICHAEL MAROT

Canadian Andrew Nembhard stepped up for the short-handed Indiana Pacers in Game 3 with a career-high 32 points.

Coach Rick Carlisle expects the Indiana Pacers to punch back Monday night.

Yes, he realizes no NBA team has ever rallied from a 3-0 deficit to win abest-of-seven series, and of course his players understand a Game 4 victory would only guarantee one thing: another trip to Boston for another elimination game.

And yet, Carlisle believes his players are ready to continue the fight.

“We’re going to come at these guys harder on Monday,” Carlisle said Saturday night, after losing at home in the playoffs for the first time this season. “Our fans need to come out and they need to get louder than they’ve ever been, and we’ve got to extend this series. We’ve got to get back on that plane for Game 5.”

Clearly, that will be easier said than done.

The Pacers blew chances in the final minute of Games 1 and 3 and hung close in Game 2 — until a left hamstring injury sent all-NBA guard Tyrese Haliburton to the locker room in the third quarter. He didn’t return that night and sat out Saturday, against his wishes. In his absence, Canadian guard Andrew Nembhard stepped up with a career-high 32 points in 39 minutes.