It’s as chaotic and wild an ending as we have seen in the NBA this season — and the scrappy Knicks found a way to come out on top again.
But the Pistons are “livid” at the officials.
In a game that was closer than Knicks fans expected, a lay-up by former Knick Quentin Grimes with :37 seconds left put the Pistons up by one, 111-110, but left New York with a chance to win it. What followed was the most frenetic ending to a game this season, which all started with Jalen Brunson missing a 3, followed by the scramble for the ball, ultimately leading to Brunson finding Josh Hart for the game-winning lay-up.
An absolutely chaotic sequence between the Pistons and Knicks, and it ends with Josh Hart for the Knicks lead, and eventually the win 😳pic.twitter.com/Fddwa5HuXc
— Dime (@DimeUPROXX) February 27, 2024
Detroit felt multiple fouls could have been called in there, but particularly Donte DiVincenzo taking out the legs of Ausar Thompson, which led to Brunson getting the ball for the game-winning assist. Detroit is right, do this on a soccer pitch and it’s a yellow card, let alone deserving a basketball foul. Cade Cunningham put it this way: “That’s the word of the day: livid.”
refs will literally call a foul when a player breathes on someone too heavily and somehow swallowed their whistle here? nah i’d be livid pic.twitter.com/2M2t4SnsA0
— Molly Morrison (@mollyhannahm) February 27, 2024
After the game, referee crew chief James Williams owned up to the mistake as part of the pool report.
“Upon postgame review, we determined that Thompson gets to the ball first, and then was deprived of the opportunity to gain possession of the ball. Therefore, a loose ball foul should have been whistled on New York’s Donte DiVincenzo.”
Suns coach Monty Williams didn’t need to wait to hear that from the referee to lash out at the officiating, then storm out of his press conference early.
Monty Williams calls out the officiating after a close 113-111 loss to the Knicks. #DetroitBasketball pic.twitter.com/aMqT83jsL9
— Bally Sports Detroit (@BallySportsDET) February 27, 2024
Williams will get a $25,000 fine from the league for that, but he’s right (and he knew the fine was coming when he walked in the door).
The Pistons could officially protest this game with the league, but the NBA has been clear it will not order a replay of a game over a missed call. It would be a futile gesture on the Pistons part.
As bad as the final play was, other things cost Detroit this game: The 17 turnovers that became 30 Knicks points, and allowing New York the offensive rebound on 36.4% of their missed shots did in the Pistons.
Brunson led the Knicks with 35 points and 12 assists, while Hart finished with 23 points and eight boards. Cade Cunningham continues to play well for Detroit through its struggles and had 32 points and eight assists in the loss.
