The biggest play of the season for both the Indiana Pacers and Cleveland Cavaliers never should've counted.
Without it, there would've been no Tyrese Haliburton buzzer beater, and Donovan Mitchell's masterpiece would've held up in a victory.
Here's what happened: With the Pacers down 119-112 and less than a minute left, Pascal Siakim missed his second free throw.
On the television broadcast, Pacers wing Aaron Nesmith appeared almost out of nowhere to rise up for a putback slam (and injure Donovan Mitchell while landing).
But what became clear on replays is that Nesmith entered the arc way too early.
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He was positioned outside the 3-point line when Siakim was shooting. By rule, Nesmith can't step inside the arc until Siakim releases the ball.
You be the judge:
AARON NESMITH WITH THE RIDICULOUS PUTBACK SLAM IN THE CLUTCH 💪pic.twitter.com/hA578hbjlx
— Whistle (@WhistleSports) May 7, 2025
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Nesmith is practically even with Siakim at the time of release.
It's akin to a football defensive end being next to the quarterback when the ball is snapped.
The referees couldn't review for this call. They looked to see if basket interference had occurred, but the ball was off the cylinder.
They can't check on a lane violation, and so the Pacers got away with this game-changing play.
Cleveland was still up five and should've held on.
But the Pacers seized momentum, on a play that was against the rules, and it changed the entire series.
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