The NBA officiating crew chief from the outfit that ate its whistle during a crucial no-call late in the Knicks victory over the Pistons on Sunday indicated after the game that a foul should’ve been enforced, denying Detroit the chance to win the game at the foul line.
Tim Hardaway Jr. released a 3-point attempt at the buzzer. Josh Hart defended.
“During live play, it was judged that Josh Hart made a legal defensive play,” crew chief David Guthrie said in a pool report released Sunday afternoon. “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.”
A foul call would’ve sent Hardaway to the line for three free throws; one conversion would’ve tied the score, two would’ve won the game.
This season, Hardaway converted free throws at an 85.5% clip.
Facing a one-point deficit, the Pistons inbounded the ball with 11.1 seconds left. All-Star guard Cade Cunningham crossed over Knicks forward OG Anunoby to create enough space to get off a shot from the left elbow. The shot rimmed out and in the ensuing battle for possession, the ball trickled over to Hardaway in the corner.
Hart, anticipating the shot, jumped in the air as Hardaway gathered his feet to shoot. As Hardaway jumped to attempt the shot, Hart glanced the right side of Hardaway’s body, impacting his shooting motion.
“You go back and look at the film, (Hart) leaves his feet and there’s contact on Tim Hardaway’s jump shot,” Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff said after the game. “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 — I repeat, there was contact on his jump shot.”
The Knicks took a 3-1 series lead, with Game 5 on Tuesday in Madison Square Garden now becoming a potential closeout scenario. In NBA history, only 13 teams have rallied from a 3-1 deficit in the playoffs to win their respective series and advance.
Now, after the crushing defeat, the Pistons will try to be the 14th.