Just play basketball

 The Indiana Pacers are down 2-0 to the New York Knicks in the NBA conference semis after losing the first two games in Madison Square Garden, and now the Pacers are hollering "No fair!"

They're saying the officiating in New York was atrocious, and most of the atrocious landed on their doorstep.

They've submitted to the league office 78 calls against them they claim are suspicious,  and want to know what the hell's going on with that.

Pacers coach Rick Carlisle even went to the conspiracy well after Game 2, hinting the Association is agin' 'em because Indiana is just a little ol' small market team, and it would be better for the NBA if a major player like New York advanced instead of, ugh, Indianapolis.

Me?

I think Tyrese Halliburton has a better grip on reality than Coach Rick does.

Here's what he said after Game 2, for instance: "Let's not pretend like (officiating) is the only reason we lost. We just didn't play good enough. We just got to be better."

In other words: You want to take officiating out of the equation? Start guarding Jalen Brunson. Stop letting the Knicks' starting five use our starting five like Handi-Wipes. Just play some damn basketball, the way we did against the Bucks.

Look. The Blob is not going to tell you the Pacers haven't gotten hosed on some calls at crucial times. They have. But running off to the league office to whine about it isn't going to magically turn around the series. Because that's what losers do.

So what do winners do?

Well, they don't do is what they did last night, which is let the Knicks' starters combine for 118 of their 130 points. They don't let Brunson drop 29 on 11-of-18 shooting two nights after dropping 43 in Game 1. They don't let the Knicks shoot 57 percent -- 67 percent in the decisive third quarter -- and 46.7 percent from the 3-point arc. And their starters don't go a combined minus-87 on the night.

Minus-87. Man, you have to be trying to be that bad.

Oh, Halliburton bounced back after his no-show in Game 1, scoring 34 points to give with nine assists, six rebounds and three steals. But no one else in the starting five took his cue.

Myles Turner scored just six points in 31 minutes. Pascal Siakam, who's been virtually invisible so far, scored 14 in 36 minutes. Were it not for the play of Obi Toppin (20 points in 20 minutes) T.J. McConnell (10 points and a dozen dimes in 23 minutes) and the rest of the Pacers bench, this would have been a platinum-grade blowout instead of the nine-point mini-blowout it was.

But, yeah, let's make it about the officiating. As if NBA officiating is the gold standard for the craft, instead of the poop show it generally is.

Enough with that. Time for the Pacers to listen to Halliburton -- a leader who does what a leader does, which is cut through all the noise.

Just play basketball. Just play some damn basketball.