“Overrate that!” Tyrese Haliburton had a brutal response to the ‘overrated’ chants he received from the Cleveland crowd last night. Of course, he was referring to his last-second dagger three that sealed the game for the Pacers, giving them a 2-0 lead in the East Semis. Although Haliburton’s epic game-winner proved his clutch gene yet again, it also raised a concerning issue: should it have been the Cavs’ possession?

It was a rebound off a missed free throw that led to Tyrese Haliburton getting the opportunity to hit the go-ahead bucket. However, many believe the Pacers’ superstar’s clutch offensive board should have been called a foul, as he seemingly stepped over the free-throw line before the ball hit the rim. Turns out, Kenny Atkinson even complained about it to the officials—a point he iterated post-game.

“Yeah, I mean we gotta look at it… I don’t know if they said they couldn’t review if he went in early or not. So, that way they couldn’t look at that. I asked Tony, I said ‘Can you look at it?’ Our video guys seemed to think he was in early. I didn’t look at the film. But you know obviously, if they missed that, that’s a big one,” Atkinson promptly noted in the presser. 

Well, the replay clearly shows Tyrese Haliburton stepping inside the paint before his shot hit the rim. So, the officials might have made a massive blunder that puts the Cavs’ season in jeopardy (Come now! Allow me to be this dramatic). However, Atkinson is not pointing fingers until he sees the proof himself.

“I’m not gonna make that judgment without seeing it,” he said. Had the officials blown the whistle on that play, it would be the Cavs’ possession up two points, and they would have likely won the game. Plus, this was not the only time Atkinson thought the officiating went in the Pacers’ favor.

Kenny Atkinson hints at officials’ bias as he highlights Pacers’ physicality in Game 2

Heading into the game, it was clear that the Cavs were at a disadvantage. That’s because their three key stars, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, and De’Andre Hunter, were sidelined due to injuries. Despite that, they were able to gain a twenty-point lead at one stage. However, the Pacers’ physical defense eventually wore them out, and the game slowly slipped away from their grasp.

Atkinson highlighted it during the post-game presser, “You know, down two All-Stars, De’Andre, we outplayed them for most of the game. We ran out of gas. We couldn’t really separate ourselves. We couldn’t get open in the half court.”

Then, he pointed at a concerning issue: “They’re grabbing us, holding us. Couldn’t really move. We couldn’t get to separation. Every possession they just upped their physicality. Again, grabbing, holding, we couldn’t move. And you know, we ran out of gas.” Yes, the head coach subtly hinted at the Pacers possibly fouling on defense and officials letting the play continue.

Even while addressing the late-game foul on Donovan Mitchell that nearly got him injured, Atkinson said something similar: “I would just say collectively we ran out of gas. It was impressive how they turned it up. Like I said, holding, grabbing, fouling, quite honestly.”

Then, again while addressing the crucial turnover by Max Strus that sparked the entire Haliburton sequence, “I would say it went with the general theme. We could not separate from them. We couldn’t get separation. Even in our half-court offense. It’s tough to make catches. Again, impressive how they grab, hold, their physicality, you know. So, that was part of the whole theme. Even taking it out, we were up 7, you know, whatever, I had to burn two timeouts because we couldn’t get it in. We couldn’t get separation.”

Although Atkinson didn’t directly blame the officials, his constant reiteration of the Pacers’ physical defense hinted at a potential bias. But the head coach understands that it’s all part of the game, “That’s the playoffs. … I just think you have to be able to play through fouling and holding and grabbing, and we just didn’t have the force left.”

Hopefully, the Cavs will have enough depth to play through that physicality in the next game as the series heads to Indiana. A lot will depend on the availability of Garland, Mobley, and Hunter. Do you think the Cavs can make a comeback in this series?