That’s some game at the Little Caesars Arena! The New York Knicks managed to squeeze a 94-93 win on the road against the Detroit Pistons. The Knicks are now in a commanding position in the series with a 3-1 lead over the Pistons. An eventful evening in Detroit with Jalen Brunson briefly exiting the game after tweaking his right ankle in the third quarter, then returning in the fourth to drop 15 massive points. Meanwhile, Karl-Anthony Towns also had a solid game, finishing it with 27 points, 9 rebounds, and an assist. However, it was the final seconds of this high-intensity matchup that had everyone talking.

The waning moments of the game have sent the NBA world into a frenzy. With the clock ticking, the Pistons had the chance to seal the deal and bring the series to a deadlock at 2-2, and they were almost there. Cade Cunningham missed a midrange shot near the buzzer, then the ball bounced around before eventually ending up in Tim Hardaway Jr.’s hands. The Pistons’ sharpshooter had the ball in the corner and tried to drill a buzzer-beater. However, his attempt and the final one of the game might’ve been disrupted by a foul from New York’s wing, Josh Hart. Despite that, the referees did not blow the whistle. The last gasp effort from Hardaway Jr. fell short, and the Knicks held on to a one-point win.

Now, after the game, the truth about the incident has been revealed by the officials. Crew Chief David Guthrie answered a pool of reporters after the game about whether the incident was a foul or not. “During the 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.” Guthrie stated on the NBA.

The Detroit fans and even the staff and players did not take this wrong call from the officials well. In fact, according to reports, there is so much frustration among the Pistons faithful that the Detroit Police have been called for protection of the NBA referees after costing the Pistons this game. Moreover, the fans have thrown towels and food items at the officials to express their anger. It has been an absolutely terrible call for the NBA referees, who missed a clear contact and did not even blow the whistle with the game and even the series on the line for the Pistons. Of course, they were going to lead to the crowd getting a bit out of control. However, the police are in place to address the situation.

To put things into perspective, it’s not ‘Malice at the Palace’ bad, but still, the crowd seems to be frustrated by the poor officiating. The referees’ statement also doesn’t help their cause. On the contrary, it makes it worse. Not just the fans, even Detroit’s head coach, J.B. Bickerstaff, is fuming after the Josh Hart-Tim Hardaway Jr. situation.

J. B. Bickerstaff was furious over the controversial decision by the referees

A scramble for a loose ball resulted in a last-second three-point effort from Tim Hardaway Jr. While he missed the bucket, there was significant contact on the Pistons’ star by Knicks’ Josh Hart. So much so that it shouldn’t have been a clear decision. However, no foul was called. The Detroit crowd was furious, throwing everything from towels to food at the refs. However, Pistons head coach J. B. Bickerstaff was even more furious as the final buzzer sounded. The Pistons’ boss did not waste even a second as he angrily pointed out to the officials that there should’ve been a foul called as he passed through the entire Knicks staff to continue to make his case.

On one hand, there was no doubt that there was contact made on that final play, and Bickerstaff’s anger feels quite justified. On the other hand, the officials did not whistle a lot during the entire game and allowed some severe contact on both ends. There is a lot of ongoing debate on whether the foul on Tim Hardaway Jr. should’ve been called. Some people suggest that it was a crystal clear foul on the Pistons player. Meanwhile, others think that the referees were correct as Hardaway Jr. leaned into Josh Hart, looking to make contact and draw a foul. So, it’s much more complex than it looks.

Nonetheless, the Pistons will feel they have been wronged by the officials, given the stakes of the play. If the foul was called, Detroit could not only have won the game but leveled the series at 2-2, which would have been massive for them heading back to Madison Square Garden for Game 5. Instead, they find themselves 3-1 down after giving the Knicks a very tough night. However, not all’s done as the Knicks still need one more win to seal the series, and it’s not going to be easy, especially after this controversial end to Game 4.