The Indiana Pacers fell to the New York Knicks on Wednesday night to go down 2-0 in the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. And it sounds like the team is not happy about the officiating from the first two games of the series.
According to a report from NBA insider Brian Windhorst of ESPN, the Indiana Pacers filed 49 calls to the NBA office that they felt were incorrect from Game 2, and 29 calls from Game 1 for a total of 78 calls they felt were incorrect in the two playoff games.
Pacers coach Rick Carlisle, who was ejected in the final minute of Wednesday night’s game when he was given two technical fouls for arguing with the officials, said that the team chose not to submit the calls after Game 1, but indicated that they would be submitting their objections following Game 2.
“I can promise you that we’re going to submit these tonight,” Carlisle said after the game according to ESPN. “New York can get ready. They’ll see ’em too. I’m always talking to our guys about not making it about the officials, but we deserve a fair shot.”
Carlisle seemed to indicate that he believed the Pacers were being unfairly officiated because Indianapolis is a smaller media market than New York City.
“Small-market teams deserve an equal shot,” Carlisle said. “They deserve a fair shot no matter where they’re playing.”
[ESPN]
