Referees non-foul call on Jalen Brunson’s late 3-pointer correct: NBA

INDIANAPOLIS — Jalen Brunson wasn’t fouled, after all. But there will be no review of the controversial no-call on a probable goaltend.

The league determined the referees only flubbed one call in its two-minute report of Friday’s Game 3, when Pascal Siakam should’ve been whistled for an offensive foul with 1:57 remaining.

But on New York’s final important possession, Brunson only absorbed “marginal contact” from Andrew Nembhard before launching an errant potential tying trey with 9.3 seconds left, the league said.

“Nembhard’s (IND) hand comes down and marginal contact occurs with Brunson’s (NYK) arm prior to his upward shooting motion,” the report read.

It was one of a few plays that upset the Knicks in the fourth quarter of the 111-106 defeat to the Pacers on Friday.

Another was a block from Myles Turner on Josh Hart’s layup attempt, with replays showing it was probably goaltending. But since the play occurred with 2:03 remaining, it wasn’t part of the league’s two-minute report.

“I know it was a goaltend. I saw it,” Hart said. “It was a goaltend. But they obviously didn’t call it.”

OG Anunoby was officially ruled out of Sunday’s Game 4 while the Pacers added a few new injuries to their report.

Tyrese Haliburton, who limped out of his postgame presser Friday, is listed as “questionable” with lower back spasms, a sacral contusion (bruised tailbone) and right ankle sprain.

Aaron Nesmith, who was used as the Brunson stopper in Game 3, is also “questionable” with shoulder soreness.

Brunson, who has been battling a sore foot, was not listed on the injury report.

The Knicks have no pingpong balls in the draft lottery but there’s peripheral interest and the NBA world will be watching Sunday’s drawing, which is happening in Chicago just before tipoff against the Pacers in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semis.

The Pistons and Wizards have the best odds of getting the top pick, followed by the Hornets, Trail Blazers and Spurs.

Why is that important to the Knicks? They own both the Pistons’ and Wizards’ picks in 2025, but they’re protected. With the Wizards, the 2025 pick is top-10 protected.

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The Pistons’ pick? Top-13 protected.

Although it’s impossible to predict, a lottery victory for either the Pistons or Wizards could net them a star in the draft and push those teams to a better record next season — thereby increasing the chances their 2025 picks convey to the Knicks.

If the Wizards pick doesn’t convey in 2025, it becomes top-8 protected in 2026. If the Pistons pick doesn’t convey in 2025, it becomes top-11 protected in 2026.

In this upcoming draft, the Knicks have the 24th and 25th picks, with the former courtesy of the Mavericks as the final payment of the Kristaps Porzingis trade.

The 2024 draft class is considered weak without a consensus No. 1 pick, although Alex Sarr of the NBL is getting the most traction.

The first adjustment to Anunoby’s absence didn’t work out.

Precious Achiuwa started in the power forward spot but only logged 22 minutes in the Game 3 loss, sitting the entire fourth quarter after going scoreless in 11 minutes of the third.

Overall, Achiuwa scored just five points with two turnovers and a team-worst net rating of negative-14.6 — though he did have four offensive rebounds and three blocks.

Miles McBride got the bulk of the fourth-quarter minutes as the fifth starter alongside Brunson, Hart, Donte DiVincenzo and Isaiah Hartenstein.

But the Knicks went cold in that final period, managing just 16 points on 21 percent shooting.

Typically Anunoby would be in the game during that stretch and he’s been one of the best fourth-quarter performers in the playoffs for the Knicks.

“The goal is now to be right there, the goal is to put ourselves in a position with the lead at the end and not have to play down to the wire,” McBride said. “But obviously it’s the playoffs and when these things happen, we have to be the more mentally tough team. We can’t talk about being tired, we can’t talk about not executing. We just have to make sure we’re mentally tough and we stick together no matter what happens out there.”

The Pacers’ big guest (literally) for Game 3 was their former center Roy Hibbert, who famously (or infamously) rejected Carmelo Anthony’s dunk attempt in the biggest play of the Knicks-Pacers series in the 2013 Eastern Conference semis.