Pacers Get Brutally Honest About Late-Game Officiating In Loss vs. Knicks

Myles Turner disagreed with an offensive foul called against him and a kicked ball violation against Aaron Nesmith by NBA referees, but emphasized that the Indiana Pacers must take accountability for the 121-117 loss against the New York Knicks in Game 1 of their series in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

“We’re all looking forward to that coming out,” Turner said. “In my experience in this league, I think it’s the best when the players decide the outcome of the game. I think it’s unfortunate it happened. We reviewed it, and they still called it an illegal screen, but it’s the playoffs, man.”

Turner acknowledged that emotions were still fresh but stressed that “you can’t leave the game to be decided by the refs.” He told his teammates to learn from the loss and move on, emphasizing the importance of having a big enough lead to withstand late-game officiating controversies.

Pacers coach Rick Carlisle also declined to focus on officiating, instead highlighting areas for improvement such as defensive rebounding, fouls, and ball control.

“There’s so many events that are an NBA game,” Carlisle said. “I mean, there’s always a sharp focus on the last minute, but there were things that happened with five or six minutes left that really hurt us.”

Despite the heartbreaking loss, Carlisle framed it as a learning experience for his young team. “This is great experience for our guys,” Carlisle said. “It comes at a cost. It’s no fun. But we’re gonna have to learn some things for Game 2.”

T.J. McConnell echoed his coach’s sentiments, saying, “We can’t worry about the officiating. They’re just trying to do their job, and there were many plays that we could have made where it didn’t even come down to that, so that’s the stuff we’ve got to focus on.”

The Pacers will look to bounce back in Game 2 on Wednesday, aiming to avoid leaving the game in the hands of the officials.

As Turner said, “The best thing about this is we play every other day. So we make our adjustments, get ready to go on Wednesday, and don’t look too much into the two-minute report. It just is what it is.”