Kenny Atkinson’s biggest concern going into Cleveland’s Eastern Conference semifinal series against Indiana was trying to match up against the Pacers’ quick-tempo offense.

Compounding matters for Atkinson is that the Cavaliers might have to go into Tuesday’s Game 2 short-handed.

Forwards Evan Mobley and De’Andre Hunter have joined Darius Garland among those who questionable when the top-seeded Cavaliers try to even the series at home.

Mobley and Hunter were both injured in a 26-second span in the fourth quarter of what was a close game before Indiana took control and pulled away for a 121-112 victory on Sunday night.

Mobley sprained his left ankle when he was boxed out by Indiana’s Myles Turner and didn’t have room to land after his turnaround hook shot went in to put the Cavs up 99-98 with 8:10 remaining.

On Cleveland’s ensuing possession, Hunter dislocated the thumb on his shooting hand after Bennedict Mathurin blocked his running dunk attempt. Hunter landed hard on his right hand out of bounds after the shot was blocked. The Cavs lost the replay review when Mathurin’s block was considered clean.

Atkinson said he did not consider the plays to be dirty, but thought they passed a line of physicality and became excessive. He’s also hoping this doesn’t become a theme throughout the series.

“I don’t think this is on Indiana. But the fact of the matter, I think that’s on the referees,” Atkinson said after practice on Monday. “Maybe they were missed calls or maybe I’m misinterpreting the rules, but I have a problem when we got two of our best players doubtful for tomorrow’s game. It’s hard for me to get my head around that. And there were no calls on either one.

“I haven’t talked about referees all year and I think the referees in this league are phenomenal and they do a great job. That was a darn good crew last night, but for some reason it bothers me that we’re dealing with this. At least there should be some repercussions in terms of making the call.”

Garland has missed the last three games due to a sprained left big toe. The All-Star point guard will give it a go Tuesday afternoon to see if he can return to the lineup.

Garland’s presence on defense was certainly missed on Sunday after Tyrese Haliburton had 22 points and 13 assists, along with three blocked shots. The Cavs were outscored by 10 points when Sam Merrill, Garland’s replacement, was on the floor.

“Halliburton is obviously the head of the snake with that pace. They have anyone that can bring it. They all sprint to their spots and we’ve got to be a little better with that,” Merrill said.

Atkinson thought the Cavaliers would come out with the same focus they had when they swept the Miami Heat. Instead, they were physically pushed around in the fourth quarter.

“I felt like we were challenged and focused to stamp that series (against Miami) out. I thought we would come out with the same focus and all that stuff and for some reason we didn’t. At the end of the day it’s credit to Indiana because they took it to us quite honestly,” Atkinson said.