NBA Referee Admits to Costing Knicks Game Vs Rockets

Published February 13, 2024 at 2:18 PM
BY MICHAEL CHRISTIAN

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Controversy surrounded a Houston Rockets win against the New York Knicks who lost their third straight game due to a costly mistake by referees on the last shot of the game.

With the game tied at 103, Rockets guard Aaron Holiday corralled a loose ball and fired up a desperation fade-away three-pointer as time ran out. The shot missed, but Knicks guard Jalen Brunson was called for a foul and Holiday made two game-winning free throws with 0.3 seconds left on the clock.

After the game, crew chief Ed Malloy admitted that the call should not have been made, and no foul occurred. A no call would have sent the game into overtime and gave the Knicks a chance to complete the comeback.

«After seeing it during postgame review, the offensive player was able to return to a normal playing position on the floor,» Malloy said. «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.»- Crew Chief Ed Malloy to the Athletic

Knicks players and Coach Tom Thibodeau were very broad in their comments afterwards, clearly looking to avoid being fined. After watching the Rockets go to the free throw line 33 times and the Knicks only 12, he did have this to say:

«The thing with the officials � this is the way I feel about that, in general � is I don't really care how tight the game is called,» Thibodeau said. «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.»

This calls into light the NBA Officiating and games like these where the fouls are truly unbalanced, and an official can determine the outcome of a game instead of the talent on the court. The Knicks could protest the game but would most likely be futile as this would be a judgement call.

Source: HoopsRumors

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