Indiana Pacers coach Rick Carlisle accused the referees of inconsistent officiating after the team dropped its second straight game to the Knicks.
With the loss, the Pacers trail the Knicks 2-0 in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. As was the case in the Knicks’ previous series against the Philadelphia 76ers, much of the discussion after the games has been about questionable calls.
After Game 2, Carlisle revealed that the Pacers organization have submitted dozens of plays to the NBA that it felt were incorrectly called.
“I’m always talking to our guys about not making it about the officials,” Carlisle said, “but we deserve a fair shot. There’s not a consistent balance, and that’s disappointing.”
Carlisle pointed to one play in which Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton was pushed in the back by Knicks guard Josh Hart. The shove appeared deliberate, but Hart wasn’t called for a foul.
Josh Hart just shoved Haliburton in the back with both hands and no ref called anything at all. Y’all would want Embiid ejected for this. 😂😂😂 @OfficialNBARefs
pic.twitter.com/BYcpoAxPic— Aidan LaPorta (@AidanLaPorta69) May 9, 2024
“Give New York credit for the physicality that they’re playing with,” Carlisle said, “but their physicality is rewarded and ours penalized time after time. I’m just really disappointed.”
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