Game 4 of the Knicks–Pistons series on Sunday afternoon ended in controversy, with a missed call potentially costing upstart Detroit the victory. Crew chief David Guthrie admitted afterward that a foul should have been called against the Knicks’ Josh Hart on Tim Hardaway Jr.‘s missed three-point try just before the final buzzer. The Knicks came away with a 94-93 win and a 3-1 lead in the series.
“During live play, it was judged that Josh Hart made a legal defensive play,” Guthrie told the pool reporter, per Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press. “After post-game review, we observed that Hart makes body contact that is more than marginal to Hardaway Jr. and a foul should have been called.”
Hardaway said the missed call was “blatant” and coach J.B. Bickerstaff was equally frustrated.
“You go back and look at the film, the guy leaves his feet and there’s contact on Tim Hardaway’s jump shot,” he said. “I don’t know any other way around it. There’s contact on his jump shot. The guy leaves his feet, he’s at Timmy’s mercy. And repeat, there was contact on his jump shot.”
We have more on the Pistons:
- The game shouldn’t have come down to the last play, Shawn Windsor of the Detroit Free Press notes, as the Pistons gave away a double-digit lead in the final eight minutes. The true difference in the series has been poise, and the ability to make the small plays, according to Windsor. Detroit’s 3-1 deficit can largely be chalked up to a lack of playoff and overall experience in these moments.
- Cade Cunningham racked up a triple-double with 25 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists along with four blocks. However, Cunningham also made seven turnovers and missed a mid-range shot seconds before Hardaway’s attempt. “He got to his shot, and had the shot that he liked and that we all like,” Bickerstaff said. “I trust Cade to take that shot 100 times in a row.”
- The Pistons are now on the brink of elimination heading back to New York for Game 5 on Tuesday. “We have to get ready for the next game, ready to play, bring it back here,” sixth man Malik Beasley said. “That’s all we can do. That’s the message.”
Fixed
Nba is rigged
Tryna help big market NY advance
Knicks nothing but floppers, foul baiters & complainers
THJ was foul baiting on the final shot and the Pistons are literally non-stop complaining here. Hit your shots (Cade at the end) and this doesn’t matter.
Still doesn’t excuse missing the obvious call.
NBA pulling hard for a Celtics/Knicks series.
@spiders
Ofc
Nba wanted knicks C’s last yr. Refs did everything possible to make that happen. Indy stormed back to beat ny, incl gm 7 blowout, despite the insane officiating. Its just not right
A true genius here ………
Did you even watch the series rookie. Knicks were missing their whole team. Just look at their records this year. Only time Pacers ever mattered. Is when you had NYers running the team ….
Hilarious lol.
Se debe de sancionar a los arbritos asi como la nba sanciona a los jugadores
KAT and Brunson with a combined 49 shots and only took four free throws total and clowns talking about how this was rigged. Game was physical throughout and fans are loving it until the final shot and suddenly they want a call. Hart was also held by Harris on the rebound and no call.
LOL. Hopefully, for them, THJ and JBB are playing along with the refrain from the part of their fanbase that has a limited background in the game. Forget the fact that the contact was no more on that shot than on half of the other the shots taken in this game, and JBB’s rhetoric about channeling the Bad Boys, because, in this case, those are irrelevant. The officials obligatory statement that a foul should have been called is also irrelevant.
The only thing that’s relevant is consistency with precedent. In the NBA playoffs, which have a long history, I don’t know of a single instance that a team has been awarded the right to decide the game by FT’s taken after the clock has expired. Yes, I get that DET and its 2k fanbase want to be the FIRST team to have this privilege, but there is a long line of far more worthy teams ahead of them. One day it will happen, but not on a foul like that. It will be a hard takedown.
LOL, DXC,THJ, JBB, FT’s, NBA…Too many abbreviations man, WTF?
At least they’re in the uppercase.
Refs held the whistle most of the game tho.
Spin it however we want on this whole thread… it was a bad no-call.
The question is, did the refs see the foul and choose not to call it? Or, did they not see the foul at all?
Either would be bad.
NBA gave the Lakers a championship over the pistons. Now they want NY to win. The Celtics will playing 5 vs 6.
For a long time the refs seldom made calls on last second shots because the idea was “let the players decide games”. That’s changed.
It wasn’t long ago that the refs called a game deciding foul on Westbrook with 0.1 seconds left with a lot less contact than on this one and the free throws for the Twolves were the difference. The inconsistency is hard to understand – or is it?
I wanted Pistons to lose by 1 pt because at the end of the 3rd they went for dunk instead of layup. Ball was still in players hand so no basket. That gets ignored because a “missed” call. Pistons played dumb with turnovers and shot selections.
As much as Towns was grabbed all game. He took 2 FTs. Yet the babies are crying about a last second shot. A foul can’t be reviewed. Cade had the game and missed. So now you want the refs to give you a questionable call. Towns was hit harder on EVERY drive than Hart touched him. Plus he got his hand on the ball. Not on his hand. Got all ball. So a little contact doesn’t matter when you get ball. Its after the play. Refs don’t win games. Players allowed them to impact games. Don’t care what refs do. Knicks are still winning this series no matter what. A refs job is to be consistent all game. That’s the best he can do. I’ve been touched harder than that on the subway. Stop crying and pick ip your dignity….
“In the 1984 NBA Playoffs, Bernard King led the New York Knicks to a first-round victory over the Detroit Pistons, despite battling the flu and dislocated fingers in the deciding Game 5. King averaged an impressive 42.6 points per game in the series, including a game-high 44 points in the critical Game 5. His performance was particularly noteworthy given that he was playing with the flu and two dislocated fingers.”
For the fouls missed on Bernard this day. Own it ..
link to youtu.be