The New York Knicks are up 3–1 on the Detroit Pistons after a 94–93 win on Sunday afternoon, and they benefitted from a big officiating error in the final seconds.
The Pistons had the ball with time winding down in the fourth quarter, and after Cade Cunningham missed a midrange jumper, Tim Hardaway Jr. attempted a three-pointer as time expired to win the game. He missed, but Knicks defender Josh Hart appeared to make significant contact with Hardaway Jr. as he was rising for his jump shot. The referees did not call a foul, however, which sent Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff into a fury as he cursed out the officials after the final buzzer.
Speaking to reporters after the game, crew chief David Guthrie admitted they made a mistake by not blowing the whistle and said there should have been a foul on the shot attempt.
"During live play, it was judged that Josh Hart made a legal defensive play," Guthrie said via the pool report. "After postgame review, we observed that Hart makes body contact that is more than marginal to Hardaway Jr. and a foul should have been called."
Ouch. If the whistle had indeed been blown, Hardaway Jr. (an 85% free throw shooter) would have gone to the line with the chance to tie or win the game. Of course, there's no guarantee he would've made those free throws, and even if he did there would have been a second or two remaining for the Knicks to run one more play.
Still, it's a difficult pill for the Pistons to swallow with the series now at 3–1 instead of 2–2 and heading back to Madison Square Garden.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Knicks-Pistons Refs Admit to Big Mistake on Final Play of Game 4.
