Tyrese Haliburton’s return for Pacers spoiled by disastrous NBA officiating
By Josh Rendall
The Bad
Anthony Davis and LeBron James dominated for portions of the game tonight. It is amazing to see Myles Turner do his craft on the defensive end, but the Lakers duo is just such a handful, getting so many baskets at the rim. I am not sure how the Pacers could have defended it much better. It was a tough task for the Pacers when Turner wasn’t in the lineup and let’s be honest, Davis and James cannot truly be stopped by anyone when they are making baskets and getting to the free throw line.
The beginning of the 4th quarter… I always dread the 4th quarter as a Pacers fan. It seems to always be the beginning of the end for the team every since I can remember against any game with Lebron James. The technical foul by Chris Duarte 1 minute into the quarter was just not smart. Rui Hachimura had just been fouled on an and-one play, and Duarte continued to argue the call and received a technical. That play seemed to energize the Lakers and allowed the game to creep back into single digits. From there, it was just a matter of survival. Just when you thought the Pacers had done enough to win, Anthony Davis and the Lakers snatched it away.
AD with the go-ahead bucket and the lead-saving block 〰 pic.twitter.com/YW6ewwr643
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) February 3, 2023
Sadly, the downfall of a game with so much promise only to lose in the last few minutes.