LOS ANGELES — Rick Carlisle wasn’t going to try to get fined, but he was also determined to get his point across.
The Pacers made nine more field goals and hit six more 3-pointers than the Lakers on Sunday night, hitting 18 of 36 and completing 50% from 3-point range on the evening. They nearly equaled the Lakers in the paint, scoring 68 points to Los Angeles’ 70 points. They fell just one board short of winning the rebound battle and notably scored 24 second-chance points to the Lakers’ 10. He also had 15 fast-breaks. The Lakers’ six and 49 bench points point to the Lakers’ 28.
But there was one area where the Lakers had a big advantage. Los Angeles made 43 free throws and made 38 while the Pacers took just 16 and made nine as the Pacers were called for 31 personal fouls compared to the Lakers’ 14.
As the Lakers outscored the Pacers 86-63 in the second and third quarters, the Lakers were 23 of 26 at the free throw line while the Pacers were just 6 of 6. The Lakers led by 19 points in the third period and the Pacers spent the fourth quarter struggling before losing 150–145.
Carlisle addressed the free-throw discrepancy in his opening statement but said he would not say anything further.
“There were some things that were impossible to overcome,” Carlisle said. “The 27-free-throw differential is one. The 17-foul differential is another. And I’ll leave it at that.”
It was notable that the discrepancy did not become serious until the second quarter after Lakers stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis had a long and animated conversation with officials, including crew chief Mark Davis, after a foul was called on Davis against Pacers center Myles Turner. Turner hit both free throws at the 5:35 mark of the second quarter, and at that point, the Pacers had taken 10 free throws to the Lakers’ 12.
Mark Davis stood his ground during the discussion and did not back down from the foul call on Anthony Davis. However, after that discussion, the next 12 fouls were called against the Pacers, as well as a technical foul against Pacers forward Pascal Siakam for arguing a call. When Turner made his second free throw with 5:35 to go in the second quarter, the Pacers took the lead 57–55. The Lakers led 91–78 before Siakam scored and eventually drew a foul to get the Pacers back on the line. The Lakers had 12 free throws in that period.
The Pacers chose not to suggest any connection between that discussion and the disparity, but acknowledged that the Lakers won the game at the free-throw line because going there kept the Pacers from running often.
“When you shoot that many free throws, they dictate the pace,” Pacers All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton said. A lot of free throws are being shot, that’s really been the story in both games we’ve played. They set the pace because a lot of free throws are being shot. We just have to do a better job of not fouling and playing through it.”
Haliburton said the Lakers were also on the line when the teams met in the in-season tournament finals in Las Vegas in December. He also said officials have allowed more physical play in recent weeks, but that was not the case on Sunday.
“I think he shot 43 free throws today,” Haliburton said. “The first game (when the Pacers played the Lakers in the finals of the in-season tournament) it was 35. You tell me what you’re supposed to do when a team shoots that many free throws. I really don’t know. . The game, the way it’s been conducted over the last few weeks, you can get away with a lot. That’s how it started. That’s not how the game continues. We’ve got to play with whatever is thrown at us “
