The Knicks are protesting a blown foul call directly leading to Monday’s 105-103 loss to the Houston Rockets.
With less than a second left in the fourth quarter and the game tied at 103 apiece, NBA referee Jacyn Goble called a foul on Knicks All-Star Jalen Brunson for a hard contest on Rockets guard Aaron Holiday’s desperation heave at the buzzer.
Holiday went on to make the first two free throws, then intentionally missed the third to seal the victory for the Rockets.
The crew chief in Houston, Ed Malloy, admitted the foul call was incorrect after the game.
“In live action it was felt that the lower body contact was illegal contact,” Malloy said in the postgame pool report. “After seeing it during postgame review, the offensive player was able to return to a normal playing position on the floor. The contact which occurred after the release of the ball therefore is incidental and marginal to the shot attempt and should not have been called.”
The NBA’s Last Two Minutes Report also shows an incorrect call on the decision to whistle Brunson for the buzzer-beating foul.
Now, the Knicks are seeking justice: Teams have 48 hours after the conclusion of a game to file a protest of the final result.
The NBA has five days to make a decision. The Knicks and Rockets are not scheduled to play another game this season, but if the NBA rules in favor of the Knicks, the league could schedule both teams to play an overtime period to decide the game.
The NBA has only ruled in favor of six teams to file a protest in its history.
Despite a 16-point comeback, the shorthanded Knicks lost their third in a row and fourth in their last five games. The Rockets also owned a wide margin at the charity stripe, shooting 33 free throws compared to just 12 by the Knicks.
“The thing with the officials — this is the way I feel about them, in general — is I don’t really care how tight the game is called,” head coach Tom Thibodeau said after the game. “You can call it tight or you can call it loose. I just want consistency to be the same. And they have a job. They have to control and manage the game. That’s their No. 1 responsibility. They have to use their judgment, and I have respect for that. It didn’t go our way tonight.”
Thibodeau also gave his two cents on the call that cost the Knicks an attempt to force overtime.
“If you look at the film, you see it,” he said. “It is what it is.”
HOW THINGS STAND
After Monday’s loss, the Knicks (33-21) sit fourth in the Eastern Conference. They are 8.5 games behind the No. 1 seeded Boston Celtics (41-12), three games behind the second-seed Cleveland Cavaliers (35-17), two games behind the No. 3 Milwaukee Bucks (35-19) and a half-game ahead of the Philadelphia 76ers (32-21).
DONTE’S HAMMY
Donte DiVincenzo left Monday’s game with a hamstring injury after playing in 41 of a possible 43 minutes at the time he got hurt.
If he is to miss significant time, DiVincenzo will join Julius Randle (dislocated right shoulder), OG Anunoby (right elbow surgery) and Mitchell Robinson (left ankle surgery) as starters on the injured list.
He is averaging 25 points per game in the month of February as a featured offensive option for a shorthanded Knicks team.
Isaiah Hartenstein was upgraded to questionable despite battling a sore left Achilles but ultimately did not play.
