The Indiana Pacers on Sunday lost in a massive shootout against the Los Angeles Lakers. Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle seems to think the Lakers got a huge assist from the zebras.
The Pacers and Lakers didn’t need any overtimes to score nearly 300 points between them at Crypto.com Arena in L.A., Calif.
The Lakers outlasted the visitors 150-145 in a game where defense was basically optional.
Indiana Pacers Head Coach Rick Carlisle Hints At Referees Favoring Los Angeles Lakers
A stern-faced Carlisle spoke to the media after the contest during his postgame press conference. Before any reporters could even ask him a question, the Pacers coach offered arguably the quote of the night.
“I thought out guys really battled in this game,” said Carlisle before fielding questions. “There were just certain things that were impossible to overcome. The 27 free throw differential is one and the 17 foul differential is the other. And I’ll leave it at that.”
Rick Carlisle on the loss to the Lakers: "There were certain things that were impossible to overcome…The 27 free throw differential is one and the 17 foul differential is the other. And I'll leave it at that." pic.twitter.com/Pbbsav25ZY
— Bally Sports Indiana (@BallySportsIN) March 25, 2024
In a game decided by just five points, Carlisle clearly felt like the Pacers got the short end of the officiating stick on Sunday.
Taking A Closer Look At The Los Angeles Lakers-Indiana Pacers Game
If you just take a look at the Pacers’ shooting splits from the contest, you’d probably assume they won in a blowout. Indiana shot 59-of-107 from the floor, good for a field goal percentage of 55.1%. They also scorched the nets from downtown, making 50% of their 36 attempts from beyond the three-point arc.
But the Lakers shot just as well as the Pacers did. LA went 50-of-89 from the field for 56.2% and 12-of-25 from deep.
The real difference was at the free throw line. The Lakers were awarded a whopping 43 free throw attempts versus the Pacers’ 16. Indiana was also whistled for 31 fouls to LA’s 14. The massive foul gap spelled the difference in the contest.
Lakers fans would argue that the purple and goal just play a more physical brand of basketball, especially compared to the run-and-gun Pacers.
LeBron James and Anthony Davis are two of the most physically imposing players in the league, which is a big reason why the Lakers rank top-5 in free throw attempts per game. The Pacers on the other hand rank 23rd at generating free throws.
The Pacers also shot about the same from the field as they did the free throw line. Indiana went 9-of-16 from the charity stripe, missing more freebies than the Lakers did in 43 attempts.
