An NBA referee crew chief acknowledged that a foul should have been called when Detroit’s Tim Hardaway Jr. was bumped while shooting the ball with less than a second remaining in the New York Knicks’ 94-93 victory over the host Pistons on Sunday afternoon.
Hardaway was about to put up a corner 3-pointer when New York’s Josh Hart put his shoulder into Hardaway’s right shoulder, affecting the shot that was well off the mark. If a foul had been called, Hardaway would have gone to the free-throw line for three attempts.
Crew chief David Guthrie told a pool reporter that the officials missed the call.
“During live play, it was judged that Josh Hart made a legal defensive play,” Guthrie said. “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 knew immediately that a foul should have been called.
“You guys saw it,” Hardaway said. “Blatant.”
Hart knew he made contact with Hardaway but was unsure of the extent.
“Did I make contact with him? Yeah, I made contact with him,” Hart told reporters. “Was it legal? I don’t know. We’ll let the two-minute report say that.”
The NBA releases Two Minute Reports one day after any game that was decided by fewer than three points. The league reviews all calls in the final two minutes of the contest.
Immediately after the contest, Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff scurried around the court pleading his case that a foul should have been called. He later addressed the lack of a call in his postgame press conference.
“There’s contact on Tim Hardaway’s jump shot. I don’t know any other way around it, there’s contact on his jump shot,” Bickerstaff said. “The guy (Hart) leaves his feet; he’s at Timmy’s mercy. I repeat, there’s contact on his jump shot.”
New York’s one-point victory gives it a 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference first-round series.
The Knicks will attempt to clinch the series Tuesday, when Game 5 is played in New York.
–Field Level Media
