Pistons were down one with the potential for Hardaway to shoot three free throws
The Detroit Pistons were down 1 in the final seconds, and the ball rolled to a waiting Tim Hardaway Jr. for a final shot. A shot, the referees said after the game, that should have resulted in three free throws. Instead, no whistle was called and the Pistons lost the game to the New York Knicks 94-93.
Instead of the series being tied 2-2, the Pistons now face a 3-1 deficit and an elimination game in New York.
When Hardaway went into his shooting motion, Josh Hart leaped toward Hardaway to contest. Hart made contact to Hardaway’s shoulder, and THJ flung the ball toward the rim as the shot was not even close.
After the game, the refs said that they missed the call.
“During live play, it was judged that Josh Hart made a legal defensive play. After the postgame review, we observed that Hart makes body contact that is more than marginal to Hardaway Jr. and a could should have been called,” said crew chief David Guthrie after the game.
It is a tough pill for the Pistons to swallow, and if the Pistons don’t surrender a fourth-quarter double-digit lead, the game doesn’t come down to a missed called. But they did and it did.
After the game, JB Bickerstaff was direct on what he saw.
“There was contact on Tim Hardaway’s jump shot. I don’t know any way around it. There was contact on his jump shot. He left his feet,” Bickerstaff said after the game.
Tim Hardaway agreed when asked what happened on the final possession.
“You all saw it. It was blatant,” he said.