Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle was rather resigned when it came to officiating near the end of his team’s 121-117 loss to the New York Knicks in Game 1 of their second-round series on Monday.
“I don’t want to talk about the officiating,” he told reporters when speaking about an offensive call on Myles Turner that took away an opportunity for the Pacers to take the lead near the end. “We’re not expecting to get calls in here. It’d be nice if they laid off that one, but they didn’t. So, that’s just the way it goes.”
While it was a thrilling finish to the first game of this matchup, the officiating became a major storyline.
The first major call that did not go Indiana’s way came with 52 seconds remaining when it appeared the visitors notched a critical steal with the game tied at 115. However, the officials called a kicked ball violation even though it didn’t appear that Aaron Nesmith kicked it.
New York maintained possession instead of creating a transition opportunity for the Pacers with a turnover, and Donte DiVincenzo drilled a three-pointer that put the home team ahead for good.
Official Zach Zarba admitted to the mistake after the game:
Even with that call, Indiana had an opportunity to win it with the ball and down one in the final seconds. However, Turner was called for the foul when setting a screen, and the team’s ensuing challenge was deemed unsuccessful.
Jalen Brunson calmly sank three free throws after that to push the advantage to four and clinch the opening win of the series for the Knicks.
Brunson was brilliant and finished with 43 points, six assists and six rebounds on 14-of-26 shooting from the field. He has now scored 40 or more points in four consecutive playoff games and is cementing himself as one of the league’s biggest stars.
Indiana will have to figure out a way to at least contain Brunson if it is going to upset the second-seeded Knicks in this series. But it will surely hope to get a more favorable whistle in Game 2 and beyond as well.
