‘We Deserve a Fair Shot’

Highlights

Rick Carlisle criticized the officiating in Game 2 after getting ejected in the fourth quarter.
The Pacers have been outmatched on the glass in both games against the Knicks.
Despite their frustration, Indiana needs to shift its focus to a must-win Game 3.

Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle was ejected with 33.1 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter of Game 2 during their 130-121 loss to the New York Knicks. Carlisle’s frustration boiled over near the end of the game, and he was assessed his second technical foul for excessively complaining to the referees.

After the game, the Pacers coach did not hold back in expressing his frustration over the officiating throughout the first two games of the series. Carlisle opened his press conference by going on a two-minute spiel on what he believes had been an unfair whistle towards his team.

“There were 29 calls in Game 1 that we thought were clearly called the wrong way. I decided not to submit them because it felt like we’ll get a more balanced whistle tonight. It didn’t feel that way… I can promise you, we’re going to submit these tonight… We deserve a fair shot… There’s not a consistent balance, and that’s disappointing.” – Rick Carlisle

It might be fair to expect the league to hand down a fine to Carlisle for blasting the officials. Carlisle particularly specified one play midway through the third quarter where Josh Hart clearly shoved Tyrese Haliburton in the back while running on the break. However, there was no foul called, and the play just went on.

Looking at the numbers, there wasn’t much of a disparity in fouls in Game 2. The Pacers committed 17 fouls, while the Knicks were called for 14. Indiana attempted 17 freethrows and made just 10, while New York went 18-of-22 from the charity stripe.

Pacers Have Been Outplayed So Far

Knicks-Pacers series has featured a lot of physicality

The Knicks and Pacers have been long-time rivals since the 1990s. With the way this series has played out so far, the 2024 iteration has lived up to the hype.

Through two games, there has been a ton of physicality between Indiana and New York. Players from both squads are getting chippy, and as seen by Carlisle’s post-game comments, there has been some frustration boiling.

Carlisle can submit a montage of questionable calls all he wants, but that won’t change the outcome of the game. The Pacers cannot hang their hat on the officiating as the main reason why they find themselves down 2-0 in this series.

Indiana has done a great job matching New York’s energy throughout the majority of the series. But so far, they have been out-hustled on the glass by the Knicks in both games. In Game 1, New York out-rebounded Indiana 40-32. In Game 2, the Knicks won the rebounding battle again, 44-34, including 32-20 from the defensive glass.

Knicks vs. Pacers Rebounding Battle
Game	Game 1		Game 2
Category	Knicks	Pacers	Knicks	Pacers
OREB	8	7	12	14
DREB	32	25	32	20
REB	40	32	44	34

Likewise, New York has won the 50-50 balls during the crucial moments of the game, and this has spelled the difference in what has been a pretty tight series so far. With that said, the Pacers must now shift their focus towards Game 3 to avoid going down 3-0 in this series.