The Indiana Pacers returned to Indianapolis down 0-2 after a second straight game in which they had a double-digit lead and couldn’t finish the game in the clutch.
Game 1 had the notoriously bad final minute of officiating. The Pacers coaching staff believed the officiating got even worse in game two as they sent 78 clips of what they deemed incorrect calls to the NBA from the first two games (29 from the first game and 49 from the second).
As someone who openly opined the officials after game one, if Carlisle and the Pacers were going to complain to the league, the time had already passed and to send in nearly 50 clips and claim that there was a missed call essentially every minute of the game negates how seriously anyone can take the claim. There were many bad ones: Josh Hart shoving Tyrese Haliburton with two hands in the back in transition going without a whistle, Jalen Brunson flopping from minimal contact on a screen, TJ McConnell getting leveled from Achiuwa on an obvious uncalled moving screen in the backcourt.
It’s a good thing that Carlisle—who got ejected at the end of game two—and the team are standing up for their players in what they think has been an inconsistent, unfair whistle but they lost game two because of atrocious defensive execution, a lack of focus, and being unable to match the Knicks shot-making in the clutch.
Sure, the refs sucked. The Pacers defense was even worse.
The Pacers players weren’t blaming the refs, both Haliburton and TJ McConnell said after the game that they got outplayed and that’s why they lost. The Pacers lost track of shooters all night, getting caught out of position one pass away far too many times, gave up the easiest back cut baskets, still struggled to contain Josh Hart in transition, the timing of their double teams of Brunson couldn’t have been worse or easier to beat, and their rotations out of the double teams were inept. The Knicks shot 57% from the floor. Everything was easy except for Brunson’s insane shot-making.
The Pacers haven’t lost at home since March 13th. With OG Anunoby out for game three, the Knicks are down another starter. The series isn’t over but the Pacers have a lot to fix to give themselves a chance.
Here’s player grades from Game 2:
Tyrese Haliburton: A-
Haliburton wasn’t going to only put up six shots in game two as he matched that total quickly in the first half. While he still doesn’t seem to be moving like he has a healthy back, he was aggressive in looking for his shot and teammates found him open often in the first half.
The broadcast seemed to think he was less aggressive in the third quarter when the Knicks made their big run but beyond shot attempts it’s not clear that’s really the case.
34 points, 9 assists, and 6 rebounds. Offensively, Haliburton did about everything you could hope for.
Pascal Siakam: D
I wrote after the first two games of the Bucks series that Pascal was going to be worth every penny that he got this summer on his next contract. Since scoring 36 and 37 points to open the playoffs, he’s been as mid as mid could be while sinking to Andre Drummond, Ben Simmons levels of bad at the free-throw line.
And his defense against the Knicks has been as bad as anyone on the team, getting blown by with ease no matter who he’s checking and losing track of shooters on the perimeter. It’s been a concerning trend since he started off the postseason so hot. Defenses have certainly paid him more attention since those initial games and that’s opened things up for others but the Pacers need more from their second star. The free throw line remains a major concern as well.
Myles Turner: F
There wasn’t a worse shot taken in the game that the Myles Turner step-back 3 that he bricked off the backboard with the Pacers down six with 2:53 left. It’s a shot that he can hit but not one you want him taking in that moment and with any time still left on the shot clock. Turner never got much going in this game at 3 for 11 and hasn’t been able to make much of an impact defensively as OG was able to get numerous layups over the shotblocker early. He finished with just 6 points and 7 rebounds. Pacers were outscored by 21 points with him on the floor.
Aaron Nesmith: F
Nesmith was probably the worst offender on the defensive end of the floor in game two. He lost track of DDV or just sunk too far away from him on the perimeter so many times that allowed the Knicks shooter to get off open, easy looks from deep. While Nesmith is one of the Pacers better on-ball defenders, he looked lost all night. Offensively, he didn’t add much, unable to make the Knicks pay enough from deep as he made 2 of 7 shot attempts. I’m still surprised he was playing to close game two with how poor he had been on both ends.
Andrew Nembhard: B
Nembhard got completely torched on defense by Jalen Brunson and he made many shots as tough as possible. It’s hard to fault him for some of the insane shot-making that Brunson has been able to do. The Pacers started trapping Brunson as soon as he crossed half court briefly in the fourth quarter but then it just sent the Pacers into rotation and resulted in wide open looks or the defense being out of position to box out on the ensuing rebound. Moving the double team to when Brunson is inside the 3-point line and has been dancing around with his dribble for a few seconds would probably be preferable and at least a little more surprising to the Knicks star.
On offense, Nembhard was awesome again, continuing his superb play in the postseason as a secondary playmaker when it’s desperately needed with Haliburton’s back clearly limiting him at times. Nembhard went 7 for 9 from the floor, making all six of his 2-point attempts, on his way to 15 points and 4 assists. He was one of only two starters than had a good game on that end.
TJ McConnell: A
McConnell was incredible. The Knicks had no answer for him. McConnell was an automatic paint touch every time he drove the ball as he found shooters or hit his little fading middy. He had 10 points and 12 assists in 23 minutes.
While he didn’t have a ton of success guarding Brunson either, he did annoy the hell out of him. Many argued that he should have closed the game. You can certainly make the case that he deserved the opportunity though saying it was because of defense feels incorrect.
Obi Toppin: A
Toppin has done all he can in the two games to get revenge on his former team. He’s averaging 16 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 2 assists with 70.6/57.1/80 shooting splits in 19.5 minutes per game.
In game two, he scored a point per minute with 20 points in 20 minutes. He’s hitting timely threes, he’s making plays in transition, finishing at the basket. He’s been phenomenal.
Ben Sheppard: A
Sheppard has hit some big threes in a hostile arena to start the series. You can’t ask for much more from the rookie across these two games while also playing solid defense.
Isaiah Jackson: B+
Credit to Isaiah Jackson for providing valuable minutes as the backup center, energy big in this series despite spending most of the season out of the rotation. With his play so far in this series, the Pacers probably aren’t too concerned if Jalen Smith decides to decline his player option this summer and should be content with Jackson getting a shot at a consistent bench role for the first time in his career.
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