The Indiana Pacers are asking the NBA office to review 78 plays that they contend were called improperly by officials in the first two games of their Eastern Conference semifinal series against the New York Knicks, ESPN reported Thursday.
The Knicks head into Game 3 Friday in Indianapolis with a 2-0 series lead.
After Game 1, Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said officials had made 29 wrong calls or incorrect non-calls in the game, won 121-117 by New York. After what the Pacers believed were 49 similar instances in Game 2, the team decided to submit the plays to the NBA, per ESPN.
The Knicks will receive the videos for review, too.
“I can promise you that we’re going to submit these tonight,” Carlisle said after Game 2, in which he was ejected late in his team’s 130-121 defeat. “New York can get ready. They’ll see ’em too. I’m always talking to our guys about not making it about the officials, but we deserve a fair shot. There’s not a consistent balance and that is disappointing.”
Carlisle, in his 22nd season as an NBA head coach, said the loud crowd at Madison Square Garden also played into the referees’ decisions.
“Small-market teams deserve an equal shot,” Carlisle said. “They deserve a fair shot no matter where they’re playing.”
While Carlisle was just as angry about non-calls, the box score shows 17 fouls were called on the Pacers in Game 3, with 14 against the Knicks. New York made 18 of 22 shots from the foul line, while Indiana was 10 of 17.
But it also shows that New York shot 57.0 percent from the field, with the Pacers shooting at a 51.6 percent clip. Indiana guard Tyrese Haliburton wasn’t ready to blame the refs.
“Let’s not pretend like that’s the only reason we lost; we just didn’t play good enough,” Haliburton said. “They outplayed us.”
–Field Level Media
