INDIANAPOLIS – Jalen Brunson wasn’t fouled after all. But there will be no going back on the controversial non-call on a likely goaltender.
The league determined the referees missed only one call in its two-minute report of Friday’s Game 3, when Pascal Siakam should have been whistled for an offensive foul with 1:57 remaining.
But on New York’s last significant possession, Brunson absorbed only “marginal contact” from Andrew Nembhard before launching a potential game-tying three with 9.3 seconds remaining, the league said.
“Nembhard’s (IND) hand comes down and marginal contact occurs with Brunson’s (NYK) arm before his upward shooting motion,” the report states.
It was one of the few plays that upset the Knicks in the fourth quarter of Friday’s 111-106 loss to the Pacers.
Another was a Myles Turner block on Josh Hart’s layup attempt, with replays showing it was likely the goalie. But because the play happened with 2:03 remaining, it wasn’t part of the league’s two-minute report.
“I know he was a goalie. I saw it,” Hart said. “He was a goalie. But they obviously didn’t call him.
OG Anunoby was officially ruled out of Sunday’s Game 4 while the Pacers added a few new injuries to their tally.
Tyrese Haliburton, who limped out of his postgame presser Friday, is listed as “questionable” with lower back spasms, a sacral contusion (bruised tailbone) and a sprained right ankle.
Aaron Nesmith, who was used as Brunson’s scorer in Game 3, is also “questionable” due to shoulder soreness.
Brunson, who is dealing with a sore foot, was not listed on the injury report.
The Knicks don’t have any ping-pong balls in the draft lottery, but there is peripheral interest and the NBA world will be watching Sunday’s drawing, which will take place in Chicago just before the game against the Pacers in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
The Pistons and Wizards have the best odds of landing the top pick, followed by the Hornets, Trail Blazers and Spurs.
Why is this important to the Knicks? They own both the Pistons and Wizards’ 2025 picks, but they are protected. With the Wizards, the 2025 pick is protected in the top 10.
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The Pistons’ choice? Top-13 protected.
While it’s impossible to predict, a lottery win for the Pistons or Wizards could net them a draft star and push those teams to a better record next season — increasing the chances their 2025 picks pass on to the Knicks .
If the Wizards’ choice is not transmitted in 2025, it becomes protected in the top 8 in 2026. If the Pistons’ choice does not transmit in 2025, it becomes protected in the top 11 in 2026.
In this upcoming draft, the Knicks have the 24th and 25th picks, with the former being offered by the Mavericks as the final payment of the Kristaps Porzingis trade.
The 2024 draft class is considered weak without a consensus No. 1 pick, although the NBL’s Alex Sarr will get the most traction.
The first adjustment to Anunoby’s absence didn’t work.
Precious Achiuwa started at power forward, but logged just 22 minutes in the Game 3 loss, sitting out the entire fourth quarter after going scoreless in 11 minutes of the third.
Overall, Achiuwa scored just five points with two turnovers and a team-worst net rating of negative-14.6 – although he had four offensive rebounds and three blocks.
Miles McBride got the bulk of the fourth quarter minutes as the fifth starter alongside Brunson, Hart, Donte DiVincenzo and Isaiah Hartenstein.
But the Knicks went cold in that final period, managing just 16 points on 21 percent shooting.
Typically, Anunoby would be in the game during this time and he was one of the best players in the fourth quarter of the playoffs for the Knicks.
“The goal now is to be there, the goal is to put ourselves in a position to lead at the end and not have to play down until the end,” McBride said. “But obviously it’s the playoffs and when these things happen, we have to be the stronger team mentally. We can’t talk about fatigue, we can’t talk about not performing. We just have to make sure we’re mentally strong and we stay together no matter what happens out there.
The Pacers’ big guest (literally) for Game 3 was their former center Roy Hibbert, who famously (or infamously) rejected Carmelo Anthony’s dunk attempt in the biggest play of the Knicks-Pacers series during the 2013 Eastern Conference semifinals.
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