When the Indiana Pacers lost star guard Victor Oladipo to a season-ending injury on Jan. 23, it was assumed that they would be unable to keep up with the teams at the top of the Eastern Conference.

Indiana lost four straight following Oladipo's injury, looking like a team experiencing a crucial brush with vulnerability. But they would go on to win six straight games and eight of nine between Feb. 2 and Feb. 23, holding steady at the third spot in the East.

However, the Pacers have hit a bit of a snag once again. Indiana has lost three of its last four after blowing a third-quarter lead against the Orlando Magic on Saturday.

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Head coach Nate McMillan told the Indianapolis Star that his team has had a tendency of getting caught up with the officiating of the game, rather than focusing on execution:

“I thought we got distracted with the officiating again,” McMillan said as the Pacers' 72-62 lead with 8:23 in the third quarter slowly dissipated. “You can talk about a call but after you talk about that call you've got to get back to calm. The officiating was a distraction. There's been a couple game since this (All-Star) break where we are looking at the officiating. We kind of get drunk on emotions out there. Everything is rushing. You're not clear about what you need to do.”

The Pacers still have a half-game lead on the Sixers after Philly lost to the Golden State Warriors, but they must take matters into their own hands if they hope to keep a top-three seed for the playoffs.