The Indiana Pacers have started playing better basketball in recent days. They have won three of their last four games and are now just a half-game out of fifth in the Eastern Conference standings. This is where they thought they would be at the beginning of the season.

Carlisle continued his praise of Walker, describing the Pacers forward as "playing as hard" as he's ever seen. The Pacers head coach also noted Walker exerting energy by guarding Celtics stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.

The Pacers blew a 19-point third-quarter lead in a 120-112 loss to the Bucks. Rick Carlisle called the second half effort "abysmal."