Did the New York Knicks get help from referees in their Game 1 win against the Indiana Pacers?

If you caught Game 1 of the second-round NBA playoffs series between the Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks on Monday night, then you definitely would have seen the sensational performance of Jalen Brunson, who it has to be said was impressively supported by his teammates. Unfortunately, you also likely saw the dubious circumstances in which the game was ultimately decided.

What happened between the Knicks & Pacers

Now, before we begin, it would be pertinent to state that Jalen Brunson was phenomenal on Monday night when the New York Knicks met the Indiana Pacers in Game 1 of their second-round NBA Playoffs series. In what marked his fourth consecutive game with 40 points, the Knicks’ star was immense as he closed out the night with 43 points. There was also Donte DiVincenzo, who finished with 25 points and five 3s, as well as Josh Hart, who continued to show he’s among the best in the postseason so far with 24 points, 13 rebounds, 8 assists, 3 steals and a block. Mention should also be made of Isaiah Hartenstein who put 13 points on the board, as well as OG Anunoby who also put up 13 points while sinking three 3s. In all the Knicks were well worth their win.

Yet, we simply can’t go any further without mentioning the referees and the way in which they literally decided the outcome of the game. While we won’t call them by name, you can go an take a look at who they are for yourself, there is no way to ignore the fact that the three of them were nothing short of terrible as the game came to a close. Indeed, it’s hard not to say that in the final minute of the game, the refs effectively cost the Pacers what looked like a win.

So, what happened? We could refer to Brunson’s check on Myles Turner which in turn allowed Tom Thibodeau to retain a challenge for later in the game, something that was key when it came to overturning a correctly called Brunson turnover with 22 seconds left in the game and a one-point deficit. We could also talk about the ‘kicked ball’ that wasn’t when Aaron Nesmith clearly hit the ball with his hand with 52 seconds left and the scores tied. Why wasn’t Indiana allowed to have a video replay review? Incredibly, crew chief Zach Zarba later admitted that the call was incorrect and moreover that kicked-ball violations can’t be reviewed. What garbage.

OK, so can the Pacers hope for better?

Whether they can or can’t, the reality is that the Pacers are now down 1-0 when it could be argued they should be up. To be clear, the above-mentioned situations were not the only examples of horrific officiating, but rather some of the more decisive ones in a night that was full of terrible refereeing. Consider for a moment that with a clear transition in progress during the closing moments of the game, the Pacers saw their clear steal given back to the Knicks, only to see DiVincenzo sink the game-winning 3-pointer just 12 seconds later. Yes, it’s true the Pacers did get their own opportunity with 12 seconds on the clock and down by 1, but believe it or not, that was taken from them as well when Turner was called for an illegal screen that we’re still trying to spot.

This is all to say that the NBA will need to answer some questions. It offends reason to think that there won’t be some accountability following Monday night’s game when we consider how blatantly wrong some of the calls were. Where the screen was concerned, there are those who will almost certainly argue that Turner was moving. On the other hand, it would be dishonest to refer to the decision as one that could have gone either way. No, what we saw was a screen that we see in every single NBA game and to that end is not normally called an ‘illegal screen.’ You can take a look below and judge for yourself, but we’re betting you will agree that if it qualifies as ‘illegal’ we should see many more of those calls in any NBA game today, which we don’t.

This brings us to the question of what comes next. Rest assured, this writer isn’t the only one talking about the robbery that occurred on Monday night nor will he be the last. Truthfully, the league is going to have to answer some questions regarding officiation and that’s before we touch on the idea that referees will be under intense pressure to do better when the teams meet for Game 2. Is this a situation where they should be cut some slack on the grounds of being human i.e., mistakes can be made? Absolutely not. Given what’s at stake for all involved, there is simply no way to excuse what we saw in Game 1. How the NBA intends to address the situation remains to be seen, but if they don’t then you can expect this to become a much more heated debate and one that will almost certainly get worse before it gets better.