The Indiana Pacers have played two very close games against the New York Knicks in their NBA playoff series. But both games were at Madison Square Garden, both were losses for Indiana, and both featured some questionable calls against Indiana in late-game situations.
The bottom line? The Knicks lead the first-round series by a 2-0 count as it shifts to Indiana for Game 3 on Friday.
New York is the NBA's largest market. Indianapolis is somewhere near the bottom. And Pacers coach Rick Carlisle — ejected from Game 2 after receiving two technicals — suggested that the market size is playing a role in the officiating.
"I'm always talking to our guys about not making it about the officials," Carlisle told reporters, via Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star. "But we deserve a fair shot. There's not a consistent balance, and that's disappointing. Give New York credit for the physicality that they're playing with. But their physicality is rewarded and ours is penalized. Time after time. I'm just really disappointed."
Carlisle wasn't finished.
"Small-market teams deserve an equal shot," Carlisle told NBA reporters. "They deserve a fair shot no matter where they're playing."
He is indeed right about that one. But it's hard to know if the NBA really cares about such things. The Denver Nuggets beat the Miami Heat in last year's Finals — and while those aren't "small-market teams," they aren't considered traditional powers (though at least the Heat could make a case, given their recent history.)
Anyway, Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton refused to blame the officiating. He instead suggested that getting outrebounded 44-34 played a much bigger role.
"They outplayed us. Let's not pretend like the refs are the reason we lost," Haliburton said. "We just got to be better."
