New York

The officials have acknowledged to have missed a crucial call in the final minute of the Game 1 between the Indiana Pacers vs New York Knicks on May 6. The Knicks eventually won the game 121-117 to take a 1-0 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

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The refs missed the call when the game was tied 115-115 in the final 60 second of the final quarter. Knicks' Jalen Brunson was dribbling the ball when he passed a lazy pass which hit Pacers guard Aaron Nesmith on the hand. The ball was eventually collected by Nesmith's teammate Andrew Nembhard for what was a turnover.

The officials, however, deemed it as a kick ball on Nesmith and the Knicks kept the ball. Have a look at the video below:

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After that incident, Donte DiVincenzo dropped a 3-pointed inside 15 second to give the Knicks a 118-115 lead. 

Also Read: Playoffs: Timberwolves beat Nuggets in Game 2 without Rudy Gobert

“On the floor, we felt that would be a kicked ball violation,” crew chief Zach Zarba told pool reporter Fred Katz after the game. “Postgame review did show that it hit the defender’s hand, which would be legal,” he added.

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As for the game, both the teams started neck-to-neck with the Knicks outscoring Pacers 27-24 in the first 12 minutes. Indiana came back strongly in the second quarter, outscoring the Knicks 31-22 and getting a lead of six points going into the halftime.

Come 3Q, the Knicks cut the lead by just one point as they scored 33 against the Pacers' 32. New York went berserk in the 4Q, scoring 39 against the Pacers 30.

For the Knicks, Brunson starred once again, scoring 43 points - his fourth consecutive 40+ game in a row. Apart from him, DiVincenzo scored 25 while Josh Hart dropped 24.

For the Pacers, Myles Turner top scored 23 while Pascal Siakam managed 19 and T. J. McConnell dropped 18.