Derek Kramer

Pacers blow fourth quarter with terrible offense as referees and SGA take over

This one stings. It hurts.

The Indiana Pacers were up by 7 points heading into the fourth quarter and ahead by 4 points with about three and a half minutes to go. A chance to go up 3-1 to take a firm grip on the NBA Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder was right there.

Then, the Pacers lost all their flow to the offense as they went 5 for 18 in the final 12 minutes as they scored just 17 points in the fourth quarter. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 15 points in the final five minutes of the game behind a smart tactical decision to have him screen for Jalen Williams, force a switch, and then attack Aaron Nesmith rather than Andrew Nembhard.

Add all of that to the fact that the referees were atrocious (for the entire game) and it was a complete disaster for the final 12 minutes. I’m not calling it the sole reason for the Pacers loss but physicality was being allowed often on huge defensive plays for the Thunder but the Pacers were not afforded the same level of defensive aggression on the other end, often being called for light contact in comparison. While the Thunder only shot 5 more free throws than the Pacers (38-33, a ridiculous 71 total attempted combined for the game), the Thunder certainly got away with more than a few fouls including multiple that led to easy transition points including a “steal” by Caruso in the first half that was an obvious foul that was ignored against Haliburton.

And then this two-handed shove by Lu Dort that should have been free throws for Tyrese Haliburton, who has taken a grand total of 3 in four games through the NBA Finals, with the Pacers in the bonus at the time of the ignored foul instead ending up another steal and eventual Dort free throws. The Pacers gave up far more points off of turnovers in this game (16 turnovers for 25 points for OKC) than they had all series partially because the Thunder would get away with things like this.

Meanwhile, SGA is allowed to use his off hand to push off as much as he likes when he has the ball and take an extra step or shuffle his pivot foot when needed, but the Pacers can’t touch him or Jalen Williams as they combined to take 21 free throws for the game as Nesmith fouled out again. The Pacers won each of the first three quarters but only slightly. The Thunder getting to the foul line kept the game closer than it should have been, especially early on when they had 9 free throws in the first 7 minutes.

Scott Foster watching both of these happen directly in front of his face

The Indiana Pacers didn’t take their post-game interviews as a chance to vent about the referees or blame them for the loss so I’ll do my own little therapy session here. There was one call where Pascal Siakam got called for briefly holding Alex Caruso off the ball as Caruso went towards the ball handler to set a screen. It’s something that OKC does to Haliburton on nearly every possession with it never being called a foul. Siakam was frustrated multiple times in this game after there would be plays where he felt like contact was ignored when the Pacers had the ball only for a whistle to be blown in favor of OKC on following possession. Dort knocked over Haliburton during a free throw at one point in the first half as Mathurin was attempting a free throw. No review. No anything as the ref just stared at Haliburton.

Aaron Nesmith got pushed out of bounds with no call for a Pacers turnover. Another of Nesmith’s fouls came on a play against Chet Holmgren in the second half where Chet was resigned to the fact that he had committed a turnover and then wrapped up Nesmith to prevent a fastbreak before the refs blew a whistle and called a foul on the Pacers wing. Obi Toppin got called for a flagrant foul in the first half despite making a clear play on the ball and then the referees had to be begged to take a look at Toppin being hit in the head by Dort later in the half. It was at least ruled a flagrant as well but it was initially going to be a common, non-shooting foul.

I think they crowd set a record for most “ref, you suck” chants in a single game and loudest/highest participation rate for a “ref, you suck” chant. In the final possessions of the game, the Pacers even got called for two away-from-the-play fouls before an inbounds pass was made which result in a free throw and the ball, making it incredibly more difficult for the team to pull off another miracle to save this game. Both fouls by Bennedict Mathurin, who was only in because Nesmith fouled out, and he also missed 3 consecutive clutch free throws.

The Pacers never challenged a single call, a lot of the frustrating ones were non-calls that weren’t able to be challenged but they had a few that could have been like a Nesmith block call on an and-1 that looked like it could have been a charge by Jalen Williams and this out of bounds call being ruled in favor of the Thunder despite Caruso just losing control of the play on his own.

Let me be clear, the Pacers still had their chances to win this game and they blew it by not making the good shots they did get, allow too many offensive rebounds resulting in easy points, missing key free throws to end the third and fourth quarters, and just becoming far too stagnant in the fourth in a rare bad clutch performance for the group. The Pacers lost by 7 and missed 8 free throws total. They take better advantage of their opportunities and they can still get the W despite the frustration with the officiating crew. They didn’t play with pace in the fourth quarter like they do at their best … but you know what makes it hard to get out and run? The other team constantly shooting free throws.

Hanlen has clients that he works with on both teams (Haliburton and Holmgren).

You’ll never guess who the crew chief was tonight. The Extender, himself, Scott Foster. He sure made his presence known. What a referee show he put on for all the people that paid so much money to come this game tonight to see him blow that whistle. Some sections near the media in the balcony started chanting “F— Scott Foster.”

The Pacers had their chances and still should have found a way to win this one tonight. Despite the blown chance, the series isn’t anywhere near over. This is still the greatest opportunity you can ask for in a basketball career. It’s now a best-of-three series and the Pacers must win at least one more game in OKC and they’ll need Game 6 in Indy.

They are two wins away from their first NBA Championship. They haven’t lost back to back games since March. They’ve been resilient after losses the entire playoff run. Plenty of guys are poised for bounce back performances, Myles Turner has made just 2 of 15 from deep in the last 3 games as his shots continue to come up short from 3. Aaron Nesmith has struggled defensively against both of the Thunder’s best players and missed all of his shots from inside the arc and was 2 for 9 overall. Tyrese went just 1 for 7 from 3 including a rare clutch miss with a a chance to take the lead with just under two minutes left when he airballed a 3-pointer. Pascal Siakam was incredible all night but the Pacers were unable to get him the ball in the 4th as he attempted just one shot. Lots of guys can and need to play better.

But damn, an even whistle wouldn’t hurt.

-#31-

3 comments

  2. Turner missed too many open shots from the top of the key. If the strategy at the end was to get to the rim, then McConnel would have served the Pacers well. He has the sense, if he can’t get a shot he is comfortable with, to dribble through traffic and feed another who is open.

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    • Myles being 2 for his last 15 from 3 is really rough. They need him to hit those at a decent clip for sure. TJ’s had his moments in this series for sure but I don’t think he played at a level where he needed to be out there to close the game over much better defenders or anything.

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