Rick Carlisle rips apart refs in Pacers-Knicks series

The Indiana Pacers have fallen into a 2-0 hole in the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the New York Knicks. However, there have been a few questionable calls from the officials in the series. Late in Game 2, Josh Hart appeared to have shoved Tyrese Haliburton, but no call was made.

Following the conclusion of Game 2, Pacers' head coach Rick Carlisle discussed the controversial officiating and how it appears to be benefitting the Knicks and hurting the Pacers.

"We always go through the film and games where it felt like the whistles weren't balanced. We pull the clips and there's a way you can submit them to the NBA office. In the playoffs when you submit things, the other team sees what you submit," said Carlisle. "There were 29 plays in Game 1 that we thought were clearly called the wrong way. I decided not to submit them because it just felt like we'd get a more balanced whistle tonight. It didn't feel that way."

Pacers HC Rick Carlisle rips officials after controversial calls

Carlisle was obviously frustrated by the officiating, and even gave a few examples of some of the plays that were called wrong, such as Hart shoving Haliburton.

"The whole world knows that Haliburton's got a bad back, and Hart comes up and shoves him in the back. It's all over Twitter right now because a few people have shown it to me," Carlisle continued. "JB DeRosa's looking right at it. He's got vision of the play, and he shoves Tyrese into the corner and there's no whistle, right in the back. That was shocking. There were many others, but I can promise you that we're going to submit these tonight."

This was certainly a controversial call, and Carlisle made it clear that the Pacers weren't going to tolerate the unbalanced whistles.

"We deserve a fair shot. There's not a consistent balance, and that's disappointing."

There were some questionable calls in the Knicks' recent playoff series against the Philadelphia 76ers. The most notable example was when Tyrese Maxey was fouled trying to inbound the ball, but no whistle was blown. The Pacers are now experiencing what the Sixers experienced in Game 2 of that series. Maxey also later got away with a travel in Game 5 of the series.

Unfortunately, Carlisle appears to be spot on in his assessment about the officiating in this series. Referees make controversial calls, and the game isn't quite as balanced as it should be as a result. The would-be foul on Haliburton is a prime example of such failures by the referees.

Hart appeared to have clearly shoved Haliburton on the play, but the Knicks ultimately got away with one. New York is now two wins away from advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals, thanks in large part to some of the controversial calls that were made in Games 1 and 2.

"Give New York credit for their physicality," Carlisle said. "But their physicality is rewarded and ours is penalized, just time after time. I'm just really disappointed."

With the way the series has gone for the Pacers so far, Carlisle has every right to be disappointed. The Pacers will have to bounce back quickly if they want to remain alive in the series. But unless games are more balanced in terms of whistles blown and fouls called, things might be a little bit tough for the Pacers.

Game 3 will take place on Friday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. Tip-off is at 7 p.m. Eastern Time and the game will air on ESPN.

"We need to get home, and we need to play better," Carlisle added.