Josh Hart scored the go-ahead layup with 2.8 seconds remaining and the host New York Knicks pulled out a controversial 113-111 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Monday night.
Hart’s winning score was set up by a blatant missed call with 8.5 seconds left and Detroit up 111-110.
New York’s Donte DiVincenzo dove for the ball near half court and plowed into the legs of Ausar Thompson, who had been trying to get control of the ball. No foul was called, and the ball ended up in the hands of the Knicks’ Jalen Brunson, who passed to Hart for the decisive basket.
“The absolute worst call of the season,” Pistons coach Monty Williams said postgame. “We had a chance to win the game, and a guy dove into Ausur’s legs and there was a no-call. That’s an abomination. You cannot miss that in an NBA game. Period.
“And I’m tired of talking about it. I’m tired of my guys asking, ‘What more can we do, Coach?’ That situation is Exhibit A to what we’ve been dealing with all season long, and enough’s enough.”
Refereeing crew chief James Williams later admitted to a pool reporter that it should have been called a foul.
“Upon postgame review, we determined that Thompson gets to the ball first, and then was deprived of the opportunity to gain possession of the ball,” James Williams said. “Therefore, a loose-ball foul should have been whistled on New York’s Donte DiVincenzo.”
Hart missed the ensuing free throw, but the Knicks got the rebound. Hart then split two free throws, and time expired during a battle for the last rebound.
Brunson racked up 35 points and 12 assists as the Knicks defeated the Pistons for the 14th consecutive time. Hart had 23 points, eight rebounds and six assists, while DiVincenzo supplied 21 points. Bojan Bogdanovic added 13 points and six rebounds.
Cade Cunningham had 32 points and eight assists for the Pistons, who have lost six straight. Quentin Grimes and Jaden Ivey had 14 points apiece, Simone Fontecchio added 12 and Jalen Duren chipped in 11 points with 16 rebounds.
Brunson had 14 points and two assists in the first quarter as New York took a 29-27 lead.
The Knicks opened the second quarter on a 12-2 run. Bogdanovic scored eight of those points on a pair of 3-pointers and a fastbreak dunk. Hart knocked down a 3-pointer midway through the quarter to give the Knicks a 46-34 lead.
New York’s lead didn’t last as the Pistons used a 14-3 run to tie it at 53-all. Cunningham had 10 points and an assist during that span.
DiVincenzo and Hart had 3-pointers, sandwiching Brunson’s three-point play, as New York led 62-58 at the half.
The Knicks opened the second half with a 7-1 spurt to increase its lead to double digits.
A DiVincenzo bucket nudged the lead to 13 at 86-73 with 4:47 left in the third quarter. Detroit cut its deficit to eight, 92-84, by the end of the quarter.
Evan Fournier’s 3-pointer with 7:15 left moved Detroit within two points, 98-96. Grimes hit three free throws with 5:23 remaining to tie it at 101-all.
Grimes hit a 3-pointer to give the Pistons a 106-104 lead. The Knicks scored the next six points, including two Brunson baskets.
–Field Level Media
