NBA says Myles Turner's illegal screen was correct call, 2 should have gone against Pacers

NEW YORK -- In its last two-minute report on the Pacers' 121-117 loss to the Knicks in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Monday, the NBA acknowledged that the kicked ball call against Pacers forward Aaron Nesmith with 52.1 seconds to go and the game tied was incorrect, but held firm that the illegal screen called against Myles Turner with 12.1 seconds left was the right call.

Crew chief Zach Zarba acknowledged when speaking to pool reporter Fred Katz of The Athletic after the game that the call against Nesmith was incorrect. However, kicked balls cannot be ruled or challenged -- only fouls, goaltends and out-of-bounds calls. According to the report: "Nesmith (IND) makes contact to the ball with his hand, not his foot. There is no replay trigger to review a kicked ball call."

Turner's foul was reviewed after it was challenged by the Pacers. The league maintained the position of the officials.

"Replay review of the foul called on Turner (IND) pursuant to a coach's challenge was deemed unsuccessful," the report said. "Turner turns into (Donte) DiVincenzo's (NYK) path and does not give him time and distance to change direction prior to the illegal contact."

There were three other decisions that the league acknowledged the officials got wrong, though it said two of those would have gone against the Pacers.

The report says Turner should have been called for defensive three seconds with 1:19 to go in the fourth quarter and it says that after the illegal screen that was called, Turner should have been called for another illegal screen on DiVincenzo. That screen came in the backcourt after a made free throw by the Knicks' Jalen Brunson with 10.7 seconds to go. That screen knocked DiVincenzo off his feet and sprung Haliburton to get free down the court. Haliburton stopped to try to pass near the rim and Knicks guard Josh Hart deflected the ball and the Knicks picked it up for a steal. The report determined that no foul should have been called there.

The report also ruled, however, that DiVincenzo should have been called for an illegal screen on Nesmith just before the kicked ball call on Nesmith. According to the report: "After establishing a legal screening position in Nesmith's (IND) path, DiVincenzo (NYK) clamps his arm and prevents him from disengaging."

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: NBA's last 2-minute report says Myles Turner's foul was correct call