Evan: Knicks fans should admit officials helped them win game one and move on
Officiating was once again front and center after game one on Monday night, with the Knicks getting by with a series-opening victory at Madison Square Garden after trailing in the fourth quarter.
Myles Turner was called for an illegal screen down the stretch of the fourth, while a kick ball was called on the Pacers as well, which officials admitted afterward should not have been called, and instead should have been a Jalen Brunson turnover.
Evan says the officials clearly screwed up, and for Knicks fans, they should gladly accept it and move on, not fight back on an argument that they can't win.
"It's okay to admit it. It's okay to come clean," Evan said. "Last night at Madison Square Garden - you should apologize to no one, but the Knicks, in my opinion, got the benefit of three pivotal calls or no calls that led to their victory.
"Repeat after me: Thank you officials."
Evan noted the aforementioned calls or misses by the officials as key turning points in the game, as well as a foul call on Jalen Brunson that was overturned by video review after Tom Thibodeau challenged the call, which evan said should not have been overturned.
Still, it doesn't mean Knicks fans need to feel like their win is diluted. Simply thank the officials for getting their team one step closer to the Eastern Conference Final, and move on to game two.
"Somehow, some way, they went back to Secaucus and said it wasn't a foul?" Evan said. "To me, it was clearly a foul!"
