NY filing protest over last-second foul call in 105-103 loss to Rockets

THE NEW YORK (NY) Knicks filed a protest with the league to dispute Monday’s 105-103 loss to the host Houston Rockets, citing concerns about the validity of the last-second foul call that made the scoring difference, according to a report Tuesday by ESPN.

In the closing moments of Monday’s game, Knicks guard Jalen Brunson pulled New York even by hitting a 15-foot jumper with 8.7 seconds remaining. Aaron Holiday then attempted a desperation heave just before the buzzer, and Mr. Brunson was called for a foul on the play.

Mr. Holiday broke the tie by sinking two free throws with 0.3 second remaining and intentionally missing the third to play out the clock.

The game crew’s chief, Ed Malloy, acknowledged after the game that the foul was an incorrect call, as did the league’s Last Two Minute

Report (L2M) report, a play-by-play report that covers all calls in the last two minutes of the fourth quarter.

Mr. Malloy said the refs believed “the lower body contact was illegal contact” as they saw it live, but that a replay review changed their opinions.

“After seeing it during postgame review, the offensive player was able to return to a normal playing position on the floor,” Mr. Malloy said. “The contact which occurred after the release of the ball therefore is incidental and marginal to the shot attempt and should not have been called.”

The Knicks and Rockets are not scheduled to play each other the rest of this season, so if the protest was upheld, it’s unclear how it would be resolved, but one possibility includes picking up the tie game with the start of overtime. —