Well, it didn’t take long for there to be some controversy in the Knicks and Pacers’ second-round matchup.
With Game 1 tied at 115 and under a minute remaining in the fourth quarter, Indiana’s Aaron Nesmith appeared to come up with a huge steal on a Jalen Brunson pass attempt, however officials ruled that it was a kicked ball violation and the Knicks regained possession.
Replay angles showed that while it was a close call the ball appeared to go off his hand and not his foot, but NBA rules state that kicked-ball violations can’t be challenged and are not a reviewable play.
Donte DiVincenzo nailed a go-ahead three on the very next possession and the Knicks made clutch free throws down the stretch to open the series with a 121-117 victory on their home court.
Speaking to a pool of reporters afterward including Fred Katz of the Athletic, tonight’s crew chief Zach Zarba admitted that they got the call wrong.
“On the floor, we felt that would be a kicked ball violation. The postgame review did show that it hit the defender’s hand, which would be legal,” he said.
While Indiana’s head coach Rick Carlisle didn’t have much to say on the matter, starting center Myles Turner offered his two cents while meeting with the media.
“In my experience in this league I think it’s best when players decide the outcome of the game,” he said. “I think the Last 2 Minute Report we’re all looking forward to that coming out because I think there were two controversial calls.”
The other call that Turner mentioned was an offensive foul whistled on him late in the fourth which looked like a potential flop on DiVincenzo, however, replay confirmed the ruling on the floor.