Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson refuses to dwell on missed calls
INDEPENDENCE, Ohio (AP)– Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson refused to blame authorities for what the NBA said were 3 incorrect no-calls in the last minute– including one that led to Tyrese Haliburton’s game-winning 3-pointer– in Indiana’s 120-119 triumph over Cleveland in Game 2 of an Eastern Conference semifinal series on Tuesday night.The NBA said Wednesday in its”Last 2-Minute Report “on the game that two lane offenses and protective 3 seconds call were missed. The NBA releases those reports the day after games where the margin is three points or less at any time in the last 2 minutes of the fourth quarter and overtime.Advertisement The league said Haliburton ought to have been called for a lane offense for stepping over
the plane of the free throw line before the ball touched the rim on a missed out on foul shot with 12.4 seconds remaining with Indiana routing 119-117. Haliburton got the offensive rebound after it was deflected by several players, dribbled out to the 3-point line and made the game-winning, step-back shot from the top of the key as the Pacers rallied from a 20-point, second-half deficit to go up 2-0 in the series.Haliburton though wasn’t the only player to devote a lane offense on the play. The NBA said several players went into the lane.Atkinson– honored
as the NBA’s Coach of the Year on Monday– stated his larger concerns were about how the Cavs lost their lead and how Indiana scored the final
8 points in 47.9 seconds to get the victory.Advertisement “I think we constantly have recency bias. So what occurred in the last 30 seconds? It resembles, how ‘d you lose that 20-point lead,”Atkinson stated after practice on Thursday.
“I ‘d say it was coaching decisions, player decisions, and after that referee decisions. And we all made mistakes. And after that if you put it kind of a ledger, you add all those up and that their minus-20 goes to, oh my gosh. We had plenty of choices where we might have made it. I’m kind of there with that. “The NBA also said several players dedicated lane offenses with 48 seconds remaining on a missed out on free throw by Indiana’s Pascal Siakam. One of the players was Aaron Nesmith, whose dunk off the rebound got the
Pacers with 118-113. Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell should have been required a 3-second infraction with 15 seconds left. That would have been a technical nasty where Indiana must have been awarded one free throw along with keeping
ownership of the ball.While Atkinson has actually been vital of some of the non-calls and his feeling that some of the physical play has been excessive, Pacers coach Rick Carlisle mentioned that his team has actually been called for 9 more fouls than the Cavaliers.Advertisement The series moves to Indianapolis for Video Game 3 on Friday.” Look, we’re not expecting any gifts from the refs and I do not believe we got any in the very first two games. I understand they disagreed with some calls, it’s all part of it, “Carlisle said. ___ AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba