The Pacers broke the late lead after officials beat at least one late call, and likely one more.
Indiana stumbled out of the Garden with a series-opening loss to the Knicks, only to simmer down after two last-minute decisions. One was at least dubious and the other was completely wrong.
Aaron Nesmith received an erroneous whistle for a kicked ball that actually left his hands with 52 seconds left.
Seconds later, Myles Turner was called for an illegal screen, which the Pacers contested.
Those two plays cost the Pacers a 121-117 loss in Game 1 at a packed Garden.
“I can clearly see [I didn’t kick it]” Nesmith said later. “that’s reality.”
What it was was a blown phone call.
In an interview with crew chief Zach Zarba for The Athletic’s Fred Katz’s Pool Report, a source confirmed:
Post-game review found it hit the defender’s hand, which would be legal. ”
Then, with 12.1 seconds left, Donte DiVincenzo drew a questionable moving screen call on Turner.
“We don’t expect to get a call here,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. “I wish they could fire that person, but they didn’t. That’s just the way it is. I mean, we challenged it, they looked at it, and a lot of people in New Jersey agreed with them.”
“From my experience in this league, I think it’s best for the players to decide the outcome of the game. I think it’s unfortunate that it happened,” Turner said. “We received a so-called illegal screen, but it’s the playoffs. I think Divinenzo sold it well. And in most cases, you can’t leave the game up to the referee’s decision. So we have to take responsibility too. .
“It’s right after the game. I’m a little fresh about it and expressing my feelings openly. But at the end of the day, we know we can’t take that position. So the last I think we’re all looking forward to the 2 Minute Report coming out. There were a couple of controversial calls. So, as I said, we’re disappointed. I can’t put myself in that position.”
