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. missed 3-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 postgame 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. It’s due 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 midrange 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.”
- They’re 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.
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?