Timothee Chalamet attempted to take the officiating into his own hands during the Knicks’ crushing Game 1 loss to the Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals on Wednesday night.
The actor, who is a die-hard Knicks fan, tried to give Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton a technical as the Pacers led the Knicks 136-135 with 18.9 seconds left to play in overtime.
Chalamet appeared to protest Haliburton stepping in front of Knicks guard Jalen Brunson to block the inbounds play — after the referee initially ruled the ball off Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard.
Nembhard appeared to deflect a pass by Knicks forward OG Anunoby meant for Brunson and the ball went out of bounds.
However, Indiana called a timeout to to review the play and won the challenge, with officials determining via replay that the ball touched Brunson’s fingertips last.
“T him up! T him up, ref!” Chalamet appeared to say in a clip of the moment in slow motion.
Haliburton turned and smiled in Chalamet’s direction, where he was sitting courtside alongside fellow actor and Knicks superfan Ben Stiller on celebrity row at The Garden.
Indiana rallied to beat the Knicks 138-135 in overtime to steal Game 1.
The Knicks blew a 17-point lead in the fourth quarter en route to Haliburton’s long jumper that bounced high off the back of the rim and in to tie the game at 125-125 as time expired in regulation.
The Pacers held on in overtime to seal the win — and Haliburton cemented himself as The Garden’s newest villain.
After his clutch basket, the two-time All-Star made a choke gesture in the direction of the crowd, mimicking Hall of Famer Reggie Miller, who taunted the Knicks during the1994 playoffs.
This is a rematch of last year’s conference semifinals series, which the Pacers ultimately won in seven games.
Game 2 is set for Friday night in New York before the series shifts to Indianapolis for Games 3 and 4 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
