It’s part of playoff basketball. One team feels slighted by the officiating and sends video of questionable plays to the league office for review.
The Cleveland Cavaliers had questions in the wake of their Game 1 loss to the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference semifinals, primarily about three plays.
- Myles Turner challenged Jarrett Allen on a dunk, and the contact sent Allen hard to the court. No foul was called.
- Bennedict Mathurin blocked a De’Andre Hunter dunk attempt, and the ball touched Hunter as he lay on the baseline. Cleveland challenged, but the block was upheld and the Pacers got possession.
- Evan Mobley twisted an ankle after landing on Turner’s foot.
Darius Garland (toe), Mobley and Hunter (thumb) are out for Game 2.
In his news conference before Game 2, Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson called for the league to clean up the play. Pacers coach Rick Carlisle acknowledged Turner should have been called for a foul on Allen.
“He’s protecting his players and that’s a big part of the coach’s job,” Carlisle said. “There are so many events that happen into an NBA game. When you notify the league of plays, the other team gets to see those. I can’t tell you how many plays we sent” from the Bucks series, which Indiana won 4-1.
Here’s more from each coach:
