The last thing the NBA wants is its referees being the topic of discussion at the end of a close game. Unfortunately, for the second time in only a few weeks, in both instances involving the New York Knicks, that has been the case.
On Monday night, the Knicks hosted the Detroit Pistons at Madison Square Garden. Detroit entered the game with an 8-48 record but you wouldn’t know it by how they were playing on the court.
They held a lead as big as seven points early in the game and put themselves in a position to win the game near the end. Alas, that is when a missed call by the referee crew could have cost them a victory.
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Monty Williams, Detroit Pistons, New York Knicks Updates
On a wild final play of the game, NBA All-Star Jalen Brunson attempted a 3-pointer, which he missed. A scramble ensued, with Quentin Grimes saving it in the corner. He passed the ball to Simone Fontecchio, who was stripped on the play.
The loose ball ended up in the hands of Isaiah Hartenstein, who passed outside to Donte DiVincenzo. Looking to get the ball back to Brunson, DiVincenzo made a pass that Ausar Thompson stole near the sideline.
Thompson never looked to get full control of the ball, which is how the referees saw it on the court, and Brunson recovered it. He hit Josh Hart for a game-winning layup for an and-one. Hart missed the free throw but got his own rebound, splitting the next two free throws he attempted. The Knicks secured the offensive rebound again, ending the game.
After the game, Pistons head coach Monty Williams went off on the refereeing, as a potential victory was stolen away from his players. His complaints ended up being correct, as crew chief James Williams admitted in his pool interview after the game that the call was missed.
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Monty Williams, Detroit Pistons, New York Knicks Updates
While the Pistons coaches, fans and players are irate at what occurred, the Knicks and their fans likely feel this is some justice from the occurrence earlier in the season. On the final play of the game, with tenths of a second remaining in their game against the Houston Rockets on February 12th, the referees stole a game away from them.
A foul was called on Jalen Brunson on a last-second heave from Aaron Holiday with the clock winding down in regulation. A foul was called, which gave Holiday three free throws and a chance to ice the game for Houston.
Upon review, there didn’t look to be any contact worthy of a foul in that situation. After the game, the crew chief admitted the call was made incorrectly and the game should have gone into overtime.
If the NBA doesn’t restart that game against Houston, at least the Knicks can at least now feel things have evened out. The Pistons, on the other hand, are still waiting for their chance at retribution for the mistake.
