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Pistons-Knicks Focuses On Refs After Game 4, But There’s More

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Detroit Pistons veteran Tim Hardaway Jr. and New York Knicks veteran Josh Hart jump for the ball

The New York Knicks will head back home up 3-1 on the Detroit Pistons in their first round series, but they shouldn’t be.

No single play is going to be the reason a team lost in a vacuum. However, in crucial moments, a referee’s whistle can be the deciding factor. On Sunday, an official’s non-call pushed a physical Pistons’ squad’s back against the wall.

Pistons-Knicks Focuses On Refs After Game 4

With 11.1 seconds remaining in regulation, Pistons veteran Tim Hardaway Jr. inbounded the ball to Cade Cunningham then darted to the corner. Cunningham, sizing up Knicks two-way stud OG Anunoby, attempted a tightly-contested go-ahead jumper.

It clanged off the rim, sailing right. Though Pistons center Jalen Duren looked to crash the glass straight-on, teammate Tobias Harris got there first. He was met by Knicks swingman Josh Hart, who maneuvered around his attempted box-out. The result was that nobody secured the ball, which squeaked through the hands of both Harris and Knicks wing Mikal Bridges.

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The orange globe was pulled into Hardaway’s orbit. With 1.7 seconds left, he up-faked to get Hart in the air, who came flying. Hardaway was clearly bumped, but there was no call.

Game. Blouses. Incompetence.

Wrong Call

Following the game, Hart and Hardaway were asked about the final play.

“Did I make contact with him? Yeah, I made contact with him,” Hart says. “Was it legal? I don’t know. We’ll let the two-minute report say that.”

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An incensed Hardaway would tell reporters: “You all saw it. It was blatant.”

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Crew Chief, David Guthrie, settled the matter. In a two-minute report that was released rather promptly, he revealed that Hart should have been called for a foul on the final play:

“During live play, it was judged that Josh Hart made a legal defensive play. 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.”

There’s certainly no guarantee that Hardaway would have made all three of his free-throw attempts, which would probably have resulted in a win for the Pistons. However, in this First Round series, he’s 5-7 from the charity stripe. Based on those percentages and his career numbers, he may have hit at least two.

Barring the miraculous, Detroit would be looking at a very manageable 2-2 series. Now, they have to overcome the odds.

It Wasn’t Just The Refs

The focus following the game has been on the refs. Yet, as previously alluded to, they’re not really the team lost. Heading into the fourth quarter, the Pistons actually had a seven-point lead over the Knicks.

Unfortunately for them, they were unable to take care of the ball, turning it over four times in the period. Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff opted to use Hardaway as one of Jalen Brunson’s primary defenders, to little success. Additionally, Cunningham went just 2-7 from the field, failing to create much separation on his shot attempts.

© David Reginek-Imagn Images

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