Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle unhappy with officiating vs Knicks, team submits clips to NBA

The Pacers are down 0-2 in the series

May 8, 2024; New York, New York, USA; Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle argues with an official. / Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

NEW YORK — Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle sat down at the podium to field questions from reporters on Wednesday night to field questions, but before he was asked anything about Game 2, he had something to say.

"Small market teams deserve an equal shot. They deserve a fair shot no matter where they're playing," Carlisle said. He had just finished a three-plus minute statement on the officiating across the first two games of the series.

After Game 1, many Pacers players shared their thoughts on the calls made, and not made, postgame. There were multiple controversial calls in the final minutes of play, and with the score tied with just 41 seconds to go, those whistles were put under the microscope.

"In my experience in this league, I think it's best when players decide the outcome of a game," center Myles Turner said after that battle. But Carlisle was quiet on the officiating on Monday. "I don't want to talk about the officiating. We're not expecting to get calls in here. It'd be nice if they laid off that one, but they didn't. That's just the way it goes," he said.

The head coach changed his tune on Wednesday. Carlisle said that the Pacers believed there were 29 plays called incorrectly in Game 1. The team went through a review, something they do after every game in which they feel the whistles weren't balanced. They opted not to submit the clips to the league, a decision Carlisle said was because Indiana believed they would get a more balanced whistle in Game 2.

Instead, according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN, the Pacers found 49 calls they deemed worthy of submission to the NBA in Game 2 — totalling 78 across the first two games.

"I decided not to submit them because I just felt like we'd get a more balanced whistle tonight," Carlisle said of Game 1. "It didn't feel that way," he added after Game 2.

"A couple examples, 5:08 in the third, the whole world knows that Halliburton's got a bad back. [Josh] Hart comes up and shoves him in the back. It's all over Twitter right now because a few people have shown it to me," Carlisle continued. "JB DeRosa is looking right at it. You can see he's got vision of the play and he shoves Ty right in the corner and there's no whistle. Right in the back. That was shocking. And there were many others."

Carlisle, who was ejected in the final minutes of Wednesday's game because he was making a stand for his players, said Indiana awas going to submit clips this time. The Knicks, he said, should be prepared to see them.

"I'm always talking to our guys about not making it about the officials. But we deserve a fair shot. There's not a consistent balance and that's disappointing. So 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," the head coach shared.

New York won Game 2 130-121. The Pacers were ahead at halftime and within one point during the fourth quarter, but they couldn't quite wiggle their way back into the game. They now trail 0-2 in the series, which comes back to Indianapolis on Friday night.

The entire Pacers organization will hope to see what they believe is more fair officiating for Game 3.

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• Myles Turner finally reached the conference semifinals after a winding career with the Indiana Pacers. CLICK HERE.
• The little things and the biggest thing will define Game 2 for the Indiana Pacers against the New York Knicks. CLICK HERE.
• Indiana Pacers discuss the officiating from the end of Game 1 loss to New York Knicks. CLICK HERE.
• Indiana Pacers fall apart in second half again and drop Game 2 to New York Knicks, trail 0-2 in series. CLICK HERE.
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