If you support the Knicks, you can find many reasons why they continued their tough and impressive performance in the NBA playoffs on Monday night against the Pacers. Jalen Brunson had his fourth consecutive 40-point game. The Knicks controlled the boards, with a 40-32 lead in rebounds. OG Anunoby played excellent defense. And Donte DiVincenzo made important shots.
If you’re a Pacers fan, you might have a different perspective. Two moments stand out: The kick-ball violation against the Pacers with 52 seconds remaining, which set up a back-breaking 3-pointer from DiVincenzo, and the moving screen on Myles Turner with 12 seconds remaining that effectively ended the game.
After the game, the refs admitted they made a mistake with the kicked-ball violation. They did not admit the moving screen, though, which was technically a correct call, but not one that is usually made in a close playoff game with little time left.
Oh, and DiVincenzo exaggerated his reaction when he went down as if he’d been shot in the leg. It was a bit too much.
Broadcaster and former coach Stan Van Gundy said DiVincenzo’s performance deserved a Tony Award.
“You never see that call at this point in the game. I mean never. That is a great acting job. Lot of great actors in New York City, see them all the time on Broadway,” Van Gundy said.
Pacers are eager for the 2-Minute Report
Turner, for one, agreed. The Knicks were ahead at the time, so it’s impossible to say that the play cost the Pacers the game, but Indiana never got a final look at a game-winner because of it.
Turner said he was eager to see the dreaded last-two-minutes report from the NBA.
“We’re all looking forward to that coming out,” Turner said.
He went on to discuss the moving screen violation (via CBS Sports): “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 illegal screen, but it’s the playoffs, man. I feel like DiVincenzo did a good job of selling it.”
Credit Turner, too, for recognizing that the Pacers had some letdowns that could have helped them avoid such a tight finish. They allowed the Knicks to shoot 47.8% from the 3-point line in the game, and lost one of their main advantages—fast-break points—as the Pacers lost the transition battle, 20-18.
Knicks Got Another Stunner From Jalen Brunson
Pacers coach Rick Carlisle refrained from discussing the referees at all.
“I don’t want to talk about the officiating,” Carlisle said in his postgame press conference. “We’re not expecting to get calls in here. It would be nice if they laid off that one, but they didn’t.”
Similarly, it would be nice for the Pacers to find a way to stop Brunson, who once again scored over 40 points with a 43-point performance on 16-for-26 shooting. He was perfect from the free-throw line and added six assists.
The Pacers can take some comfort in knowing that the Sixers had no answers, either. After starting 16-for-55 in the Knicks’ first two playoff games, Brunson has now averaged 42.0 points on 50.0% shooting.
It would be beneficial if Indiana's standout player Tyrese Haliburton (who is currently dealing with a back injury) could start playing well. Haliburton only scored six points on 2-for-6 shooting in the last game, which is his third-worst performance of the season.
