This year's NBA Finals are off to an amazing start as Tyrese Haliburton's game-winning jumper concluded an epic Game 1 between the Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night. Part of what made the game great was a relative lack of fouls called. The two teams combined for 45 free throws over the course of four quarters and the action flowed well for the most part as a result.
It represented another tightening of the whistle from referees, consistent with earlier playoff trends that saw the officials allowing more physicality than the regular season. Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle weighed in on that aspect of the game at-large during his Game 2 media availability on Saturday and had a blunt perspective on keeping free throw attempts down.
