The Indiana Pacers had some of their recent momentum halted on Sunday night when they lost a 150-145 shootout to the Los Angeles Lakers. While there were certainly quite a lot of points scored in this one, if you ask Rick Carlisle, it's clear that the Lakers got a little extra help from the referees that wasn't given to the Pacers.
While the scoring totals jump off the page, there was a massive discrepancy in fouls called (31 against the Pacers, 14 against the Lakers) and free throw attempts (16 for the Pacers, 43 for the Lakers). After the game, Carlisle admitted that he found it hard to believe that Indiana wasn't dealt a losing hand from the get go by the referees based on the way they called things.
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
Rick Carlisle, Pacers had other problems that flared up in loss to Lakers
Well, it's clear as day that the Pacers got a bad whistle in this game, but it wasn't the only issue that they dealt with. And while you can't exactly control how the game is officiated, the other areas in which Indiana struggled were things that they could control, which may be worth Carlisle taking a closer look at.
For starters, the Lakers dropped a mind-boggling 150 points in this game. Defense was optional for both sides, and that can't really be the case if you want to put your name in the win column. The Pacers were firing on all cylinders offensively too, but they couldn't do anything to stop Los Angeles, which is likely a bigger reason for their loss than the poor officiating.
Even when looking at the foul discrepancy, the Pacers hit just nine of their 16 free throws on the night, while the Lakers hit 38 of their 43 shots from the charity stripe. Had Indiana simply made their free throws, they would have won this game. Obviously, that's easier said than done, but there's a reason why it's called the charity stripe in the first place.
Getting fed up over the massive gap in fouls and free throws between these two teams is natural, but you can almost never truly blame the officiating for losses in the NBA. While the Lakers certainly got a helping hand in this one, it's not as if Indiana didn't have a shot to win. In fact, they very nearly pulled out a victory regardless, which would have been quite impressive.
Instead, they suffered a hard-fought loss, and will now have to quickly turn around and shift their attention to the Los Angeles Clippers, who they play on Monday night in the second half of a back-to-back. Carlise will surely be looking for a more even game to be called by the referees, but after allowing 150 points, he also should do what he can to get his team to play some better defense moving forward.
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