After Game 2 loss, Carlisle says Pacers can't win by being 'reactive'

Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said his team must start games better after its 123-107 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 2 of the NBA Finals.

"Another bad first half," Carlisle said in his postgame media availability Sunday night, according to Tony East of Forbes Sports. "Obviously it was a big problem. We just played poorly. A little better in the second half. You can't be a team that's reactive and expect to be successful or have consistency."

The Pacers fell behind as much as 23 points in the first half, the largest deficit of the game. Indiana's star guard, Tyrese Haliburton, was limited to only three points in the first 24 minutes, but would finish the game as the team's leading scorer with 17 points.

"I think I've had two really poor first halves," Haliburton told media. "I just gotta figure out how to be better earlier in games."

Carlisle added that there's more to the game than scoring, and the whole team needs to step up.

"Everybody's got to do more," Carlisle told reporters, including theScore. "It starts with the best players, starts with Tyrese, and Pascal (Siakam), and Myles (Turner). ... and then it goes from there.

"People shouldn't just look at his (Haliburton's) points and assists and judge how he played, or judge how any of our guys played just on that. That's not how our team is built. We're an ecosystem that has to function together. We've got to score enough points to win the game, but who gets them and how they get them - not important."

The Pacers took Game 1 on the road thanks to Haliburton's game-winning shot with 0.3 seconds left. With the series tied 1-1, Indiana will play host to Game 3 on Wednesday.