NBA Ref Explains Lack of Call on Jalen Brunson in Controversial End to Knicks-Pistons
There was no shortage of controversy in the final seconds of Game 3 of the first-round playoff series between the New York Knicks and Detroit Pistons on Thursday, and official Zach Zarba tried to provide some clarity in the aftermath.
While New York ended up escaping with a 118-116 victory to take a 2-1 series lead, ESPN's Chris Herring noted its late lead appeared to be in jeopardy when Jalen Brunson caught the ball near midcourt up three.
It seemed like he caught it in the frontcourt only for his momentum to carry him to the backcourt, where he was eventually fouled with 3.5 seconds remaining.
Zarba cited Rule 4, Section 6G of the NBA rulebook in the postgame pool report and explained Brunson didn't fully establish position in the frontcourt when he caught it despite protestations from the crowd and Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff.
"Brunson and the trajectory of the pass were headed toward the backcourt. Brunson's momentum was taking him there when he touches the ball," Zarba said (h/t Herring). "That's why that play is legal."
It wasn't the only controversy, as Brunson intentionally missed a free throw up two points with 0.5 seconds remaining since the Pistons did not have any timeouts remaining. Yet the clock ran out before anyone touched the ball on the rebound.
Officials reviewed it and gave Detroit an inbounds pass, which didn't sit well with the Knicks even if the Pistons didn't score.
"It doesn't seem right to me," New York head coach Tom Thibodeau said. "That should never happen, ever, in a playoff game."
Karl-Anthony Towns said, "I ain't gonna lie to you, man; shoutout to the [scorer's] table, man. Giving your team another chance like that is fire. I got to give them a lot of respect for that. I've never seen that in 10 years of basketball."
Fortunately for the Knicks, they still emerged with the narrow win thanks in large part to impressive performances from Towns (31 points and eight rebounds) and Brunson (30 points, nine assists and seven rebounds).
They stole home-court advantage back after losing it in Game 2 and have an opportunity to seize full control of the series during Sunday's Game 4.
Ideally for both teams, the ending of that one won't feature as much controversy.
