Rick Carlisle wins first playoff series in 13 years

Rick Carlisle won the NBA Finals with the Dallas Mavericks in 2011. Until Thursday, that was the last time the veteran coach won a playoff series.

Carlisle won a title as the Mavericks’ head coach behind Dirk Nowitzki’s stellar playoff effort. But after the Mavericks let Tyson Chandler go after the season, he endured a lot of first-round exits. The Thunder swept the Mavs the next year on their way to the Finals, then Dallas lost in seven games to the eventual champion Spurs in 2014.

The Thunder beat Dallas again in 2016, and after some years in the lottery got them Luka Doncic, the Mavericks dropped series to the Clippers in 2020 and 2021.

Since the championship, Carlisle went 10-24 in postseason play. Until this season, that is, when he got revenge on former Clippers coach Doc Rivers with a 4-2 series win.

Did Carlisle change as a coach? Not really. He was the underdog in all of those series. Mainly, Nowitzki got a little too old, Doncic was a little too young and Mavs owner Mark Cuban was a little too cheap after the 2011 title.

Now he and the Pacers will move on to play either the 76ers or Knicks in the next round. Until then, Carlisle will enjoy his first playoff winning streak in over a decade.