The New York Knicks snuck by the Detroit Pistons with a pivotal 94-93 win in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference first round on Sunday.
However, following the game, officials revealed that a crucial call was missed, and it could have changed the outcome of the game.
Crew chief David Guthrie reported to ESPN that a late-game foul against Josh Hart of the Knicks wasn’t called.
“During live play, it was judged that Josh Hart made a legal defensive play,” Guthrie said. “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 the foul had been called, Tim Hardaway Jr. would have gone to the foul line for three free throws.
Considering the Pistons lost by a single point, this could have been a difference maker.
At the time of the missed foul, Detroit fans were furious because they felt that the refs were harming the Pistons’ chances of a win.
After the game, this play was talked about a lot.
Hardaway said he felt the foul was blatant and obvious and the refs dropped the ball.
Hart admitted that he made contact with Hardaway but wouldn’t state if it was legal or not, letting the game’s Two Minute Report do the talking instead.
Now the Knicks hold a 3-1 advantage in the series and are hoping to put it away when it returns to New York.
If the Knicks end up winning this series, Detroit fans will not forget this moment and how the refs missed a call.
Mistakes happen, and the Pistons ideally would have opened up such a lead that this wouldn’t have had an impact.
But Pistons fans are fuming about this incident, and it could be talked about for a long time to come.
NEXT: Tobias Harris Gets Honest About His Time With Pistons
