Referee Admits Foul Should Have Been Called on Josh Hart at End of Knicks vs Pistons Game

The New York Knicks took a commanding 3-1 series lead on Sunday in a thrilling Game 4 contest against the Detroit Pistons in their first-round series. The Knicks, who trailed for most of the third and fourth quarter, rallied back to earn the win, which was a buzzsaw of a game.

The Knicks will now head back to New York with a chance to close out this series in Game 5 on Tuesday. The New York crowd will be rockin’, and it will be worth witnessing.

However, before the page officially turns to Game 5, Game 4 is still very much talked about. The game ended in controversy as there was a questionable no-call on Knicks forward Josh Hart.

Here’s the play in question.

Many, especially Detroit fans, were outraged by the non-call. The news after the game didn’t make things better, as crew chief David Guthrie says a foul should’ve been called on Hart.

“During live play, it was judged that Josh Hart made a legal defensive play,” said Guthrie. “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.”

If there had been a foul call, Pistons shooting guard Tim Hardaway Jr. would have made his way to the free throw line to shoot three free throws, possibly leading the Pistons to tie the series at two games apiece.

After the game, Hart admitted to making contact with Hardaway Jr. on the final play.

“Did I make contact with him? Yeah, I made contact with him. Was it legal? I don’t know. We’ll let the two-minute report say that,” said Hart.

The Knicks and Pistons were throwing haymakers at each other in a game that did not disappoint. The Knicks ultimately came out on top, 94-93. New York turned it up in the fourth quarter, scoring 30 points after being outscored 28-14 in the third quarter.

There were plenty of incredible moments leading up to the controversial no-call, including Knicks’ Karl-Anthony Towns knocking down a deep three-pointer with 46.6 seconds remaining, right after hitting a tough baseline jumper on the previous possession.

The Pistons let a golden opportunity slip through their fingers in a game that stirred plenty of controversy around the officiating. The playoffs are often decided by split-second, bang-bang plays, and this was certainly one that could have easily been called in real time.

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