The Pistons had a beef with the refs after Game 3 against the Knicks, and even more so after Game 4.
After Tim Hardaway Jr. appeared to be fouled by Josh Hart on a potential game-winning three-pointer as time expired Sunday, the lead official admitted after the Pistons' 94-93 loss that gave the Knicks a 3-1 lead in the series that a foul should have been called. Hardaway Jr. would have gone to the line for three shots with a chance to win the game.
"During live play, it was judged that Josh Hart made a legal defensive play," crew chief David Guthrie said in a pool report. "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."
Asked how he saw the play unfold, Hardaway Jr. said, "You guys saw it. Blatant."
J.B. Bickerstaff said the same thing: "You back and look at the film, the guy leaves his feet. There's contact on Tim Hardaway’s jump shot. I don’t know any other way around it. There’s contact on his jump shot. The guy leaves his feet, he's at Timmy's mercy. I'll repeat: there's contact on his jump shot."
The Pistons had a chance to take the lead seconds before the controversial play, but Cade Cunningham couldn't hit a pull-up jumper from the free-throw line.
"Cade got his shot," said Bickerstaff. "He got to his spot and he got to his shot, and had the shot that he liked and that we all like. I trust Cade to take that shot 100 times in a row."