NBA playoffs: Cavs coach takes issue with Pacers style of play in playoff loss

The Cleveland Cavaliers entered this year’s playoffs as the top seed in the Eastern Conference then cruised through a first-round series with the Miami Heat.

After sweeping the Heat, the Cavs opened a second-round series with the Indiana Pacers Sunday. 

The Pacers upset the Cavs in Game 1 of the East semifinals, and Cleveland head coach Kenny Atkinson apparently took issue with the Pacers’ style of play.

During his postgame news conference, Atkinson revealed Evan Mobley aggravated an ankle during the game, while DeAndre Hunter dislocated a thumb. While the coach said play didn’t escalate to the level of being “dirty,” he did suggest Indiana’s level of physicality contributed to the injuries.

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“I don’t think they were dirty plays, but I think it passed a line of physicality,” Atkinson said. 

“That line we’ve kind of been talking about where it became excessive. So, No. 1 was the non-call on De’Andre’s layup, which I don’t know … I felt he got absolutely obliterated and dislocated his thumb, so he’ll be questionable. And then Evan, around the same time, I can’t remember if it was before or after, (Myles) Turner contests his two-point shot, comes under, clearly under him. … I think you guys saw him limping the rest of the game.”

Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle responded to Atkinson’s assertion, saying, “He’s protecting his players.”

“And that’s a big part of the coach’s job,” Carlisle added. “There are so many events in an NBA game. They turned in three plays to the league. When you turn in plays to the league, the other team has to be notified of that, so we were notified. …. I don’t want to tell you the number of plays we turned in during our Milwaukee series, and we won four out of five games. There are so many things in a heated playoff series that you disagree with.”

Carlisle said at least one of the plays was the result of a “missed call.”

“The play with (Jarrett) Allen … that was a missed call, clearly,” Carlisle said.

The NBA fined Carlisle $35,000 in May 2024 after he directed some criticism at the referees who officiated the Pacers’ playoff series against the New York Knicks.

Shortly before Game 2 tipped off Tuesday evening, ESPN reported Mobley and Hunter were ruled out. Darius Garland, who sat out Game 1 with an injury, was also unavailable for Game 2.

The Cavs held an 81-67 lead over the Pacers with 5:07 remaining in the third quarter of Game 2 Tuesday night.

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