Indiana Pacers coach Rick Carlisle out multiple games after positive COVID-19 test

Dec. 10 (UPI) -- Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle will be out multiple games after testing positive for COVID-19, the team announced Friday.

Due to the positive test, Carlisle missed his first matchup against the Dallas Mavericks -- the franchise he coached for 13 seasons before resigning this past off-season -- on Friday.

Pacers assistant coach Lloyd Pierce will serve as interim head coach in Carlisle's absence, according to the team. After Friday's contest against the Mavericks, the Pacers are off until a meeting against the Golden State Warriors on Monday. Indiana has three games scheduled for next week.

"There was a lot of precautionary steps by the organization and then it was just a matter of what to do next," Pierce told reporters. "We came in between 8 and 9 [Friday] morning and tested -- anyone they recommended for testing and pretty much anyone else we thought needed to be tested."

Pacers guard Justin Holiday is the only player on the team who won't play because of COVID-19. He entered the NBA's health and safety protocols Nov. 30 and was listed as out before Friday's game.

ESPN reported that Carlisle entered the league's protocols Thursday after returning a positive result on a rapid test. The Pacers also canceled practice that day out of "an abundance of caution."

The 62-year-old Carlisle, who is fully vaccinated and has received a booster shot, was experiencing "mild symptoms," according to ESPN.

Carlisle is in his second stint as head coach of the Pacers. He coached the team from 2003-07, reaching the playoffs three times in four seasons.