The Detroit Pistons were on the wrong end of a controversial no-call in their loss to the New York Knicks on Sunday, and the NBA has made a major admission about the play.
The Pistons overcame a 16-point deficit in Game 4 against the Knicks to put themselves in position for a game-winning shot. They were trailing 94-93 when Tim Hardaway Jr. attempted a three-pointer from the corner with just seconds remaining, but Josh Hart disrupted the shot.
Hart clearly made contact with Hardaway, but no foul was called.
Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff was furious that Hart was not whistled for a foul. Even the NBA knows the anger from the Detroit bench area was justified.
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Following the game, crew chief David Guthrie told pool reporter Coty M. Davis of The Detroit News that a foul should have been called.
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“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,” Guthrie said.
The call was the type that could potentially cost the Pistons the series. Rather than being awarded three free throws with 1.6 seconds left, Detroit lost the game and fell behind 3-1 in the series.
Steve is a veteran writer who has covered a variety of sports and pop culture topics for more than 15 years. In addition to Yardbarker, his work has been featured on prominent digital publications including Larry Brown Sports, MSN and FOX Sports. The UConn graduate has published more than 40,000 stories and is one of the most experienced trending news writers in the country
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