The Knicks were beat on the boards and beat on the final scoreboard as the Pistons evened the series at The Garden on Monday night, but many were pointing to the free throw column of the box score throughout game two.
New York didn’t make a single trip to the foul line until late in the first half, finishing the first 24 minutes with just two free throw attempts, while Detroit shot 9-for-10 from the stripe in the opening half. Players were visibly frustrated with the officiating, as was Tom Thibodeau, who called out the “discrepancy” during his postgame press conference.
“Huge discrepancy in free throws. Huge,” Thibodeau said. “So, I have to take a look at that. I don’t understand how, on one side, you talk about direct line drives, the guy is getting fouled, and it’s not being called.
“I really don’t give a crap how they call the game, as long as it’s consistent on both sides. If Cunningham is driving and there’s marginal contact and he’s getting to the line, then Jalen should be getting to the line. It’s really that simple.”
When it was all said and done, the Pistons attempted 34 foul shots compared to just 19 for the Knicks, and even still, New York battled back to tie the game with a minute to go after another spirited fourth quarter run. But Dennis Schroder nailed a 3-pointer to give the Pistons the lead back for good, and send the series to the Motor City tied at one game apiece.
The officiating will now be a storyline during a pivotal game three on Thursday night, but Jalen Brunson wants to put more of an emphasis on what the Knicks can do about it, which is adjust their style of play.
“We have to control what we can control,” Brunson said. “Regardless if fouls are being called or not called, we have to adjust. I feel like we did that a little too late in the game.”