TITLE: Pacers edge Hornets as Rick Carlisle picks up 1,000th coaching victory
SLUG: rick-carlisle-reaches-1000th-win-pacers
CONTENT:
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Rick Carlisle finally joined the NBA’s 1,000-win club on Thursday night, guiding the Indiana Pacers past the Charlotte Hornets 114-112 to snap a franchise-record 13-game slide.
The victory, coming exactly one month after his 999th, makes the 66-year-old the 11th coach in league history to reach four figures and the first since Doc Rivers did so in November 2021.
Indiana closed the game with five unanswered points. Pascal Siakam drove for the go-ahead layup with 11.5 seconds remaining, T.J. McConnell swiped the ensuing in-bounds pass, and rookie Ben Sheppard split a pair of free throws. Charlotte guard Collin Sexton missed a jumper at the horn.
“I’m so happy for our players,” Carlisle said after embracing assistants and players at midcourt. “The last month has been challenging in so many ways. We have an amazing group of guys who continue to fight through thick and thin.”
Carlisle’s long road to 1,000
The milestone arrives in Carlisle’s 24th season as a head coach, including stints with Detroit, Dallas and two tours in Indiana. His career record now stands at 1,000-891.
Carlisle captured an NBA title with the Mavericks in 2011 and has coached stars ranging from Reggie Miller and Dirk Nowitzki to Luka Doncic and Tyrese Haliburton. New York Knicks coach Mike Brown, a former Carlisle assistant, recently called him “obviously … a Hall of Fame coach.”
Indiana entered Thursday with the league’s worst mark at 7-31, battered by injuries that include Haliburton’s torn Achilles tendon. During the month-long drought, the Pacers suffered blowouts, late-game collapses and narrow defeats. Carlisle called Thursday’s finish “excruciating,” but praised Siakam, saying the forward “put his stamp on things at the end.”
Company on the list
All 10 previous members of the 1,000-win fraternity — including Rivers, Gregg Popovich and the late Jerry Sloan — were active during Carlisle’s tenure. “I coached against them for many years and have great respect for them,” he said.
Despite the difficult season, Carlisle insisted the night was about more than a personal benchmark. “This has never been about me getting a milestone win,” he said. “It’s about our organization and our franchise.”
Source: ESPN
