The Indiana Pacers didn’t do themselves many favors down the stretch in their 121-117 loss to the New York Knicks on Monday night.
Stagnant offense, fouls, turnovers and breakdowns in defense and rebounding cost Indiana dearly in the second half of their second-round playoff game.
But the Pacers also had a few calls go against them—one of which the NBA acknowledged officials got wrong.
With about 52 seconds left in the fourth quarter, referees whistled Aaron Nesmith for a kicked ball. But replays showed—and Nesmith insisted the same—that he’d gotten his hand on a bounce pass from Jalen Brunson.
It could have been a steal, and with the game tied 115-115, the Pacers would’ve had the ball for the chance to take the lead. Instead, the kicked ball call awarded possession to the Knicks, who proceeded to get a key three-pointer from Donte DiVincenzo just 12 seconds later.
Nesmith was animated in his insistence he didn’t kick the ball. The Pacers couldn’t challenge the play; teams can only challenge fouls, goaltends and out of bounds plays, according to league rules.
Crew Chief Zach Zarba acknowledged after the game that the officials blew the call.
“On the floor we felt that would be a kicked ball violation. Post game review did show that it hit the defender’s hand, which would be legal,” Zarba said in the pool report.
Even then, the Pacers fought back. They got within a point of the Knicks, trailing 118-117 with under 20 seconds to play. After forcing a turnover, they had a chance to win.
But center Myles Turner was whistled for an offensive foul with 12.7 seconds left; officials said he set an illegal screen that leveled DiVincenzo. Pacers coach Rick Carlisle challenged the call, which the referees upheld after a video review.
"I don't want to talk about the officiating," Carlisle told reporters in his postgame media availability. "We're not expecting to get calls in here. It would be nice if they laid off that one, but they didn't, so that's just the way it goes. We challenged it, they reviewed it. They got a bunch of people in New Jersey [the NBA replay center] that agreed with them."
“Just in my experience in this league I think it’s best when the players decide the outcome of the game,” Turner said after the game. “I think it’s unfortunate that it happened. We reviewed it, they still called it an illegal screen. It’s the playoffs, man. I think DiVincenzo did a good job selling it. For the most part, you can’t leave the game to be decided by the refs. So, we have to take accountability as well.”
Andrew Nembhard then complicated things by fouling Brunson before the ball was inbounded on the ensuing possession, giving the Knicks a free throw and the ball. Brunson drained three free throws to clinch the win; he finished with 43 points on the night.
The Pacers will look to rebound from the loss in Game 2 on Wednesday.