J.B. Bickerstaff, the Pistons coaching staff, and their players were incredulous at the end of Sunday’s game four, which concluded with a missed 3-pointer by Tim Hardaway Jr. to seal a 94-93 win and a 3-1 series lead for the visiting Knicks.
Detroit argued that Hardaway had been fouled by Josh Hart on the potential game winner, and after the game, Bickerstaff told reporters that there should have been a foul call due to “clear contact” on his shooter.
But the refs, as they had for much of the game and even much of that final possession before Hardaway found the ball in the corner, kept their whistles silent, and the Knicks completed the fourth-quarter comeback to steal game four and seize control of the series.
After the game, the Pistons took to social media to make it clear that they weren’t over the no-call decision.
Both Malik Beasley and Dennis Schröder posted photos to their Instagram pages of a screenshot of the final play, where Hart is making contact with Hardaway as he goes up for the shot. Beasley’s post contained just the photo, while Schröder added the caption, “Just want it to be fair.”
Even the Pistons social media account got in on the criticism, posting a quote graphic of Hardaway saying that the foul was “blatant,” and the post was accompanied by the caption, “Blatant.”
Many ripped the team for complaining about the officiating via the official social media accounts, while others doubled down on their opinion that the Knicks were gifted a win in a crucial game. Referees admitted to getting it wrong and that Hart should have been whistled for a foul, but Knicks fans countered that the officials missed plenty of calls that should have gone New York’s way, including a loose ball fall on Tobias Harris while the two teams were scrambling for possession just before the ball rolled to Hardaway on the final play of the game.