The NBA’s admission that the referees botched a critical call at the end of Game 4 was of no consolation to the Pistons.
The league acknowledged Monday that Josh Hart should have been called for making “more than marginal contact” with Tim Hardaway Jr. on the missed 3-point attempt at the buzzer of the Knicks’ 94-93 victory Sunday in Detroit.
The Pistons didn’t take any solace in that concession as they suddenly faced elimination Tuesday night at the Garden.
“Yeah, for sure, I think that makes it hurt, sting more, for sure,” Detroit forward Tobias Harris said following a morning shootaround before Game 5 at MSG. “But that’s in the past now.
“It’s heartbreaking obviously, but that’s over with. We understand where we’re at today and what we gotta do [Tuesday night].”
All-Star point guard Cade Cunningham added the Pistons “knew they got it wrong in the moment, so it’s really no difference.”
Officiating crew chief David Guthrie also told a pool reporter after Sunday’s game that the refs got the call wrong.
“It doesn’t make us feel, like, validated hearing that or anything,” Cunningham said Tuesday. “But when the buzzer goes off, the game is over, so we’re getting ready mentally for this game.”
Veteran shooter Malik Beasley said it’s “obviously” harder to hear the NBA admit its mistake.
“What’s the point of doing that if we can’t go back and shoot free throws?” he said. “To us, it’s just Detroit against the world and we’re gonna keep doing that.
“We’ve been rebounding all year, so I think this is the easiest one. Obviously, it’s the most hurt one, too, but we know the value of the next game and how important this game is, so I think all of us have a next-game mentality and that’s how we feel right now.”
Many believed that Harris also had fouled Hart as they fought for a rebound under the basket seconds before the Hardaway missed call. But the league stated in its Last Two Minute report that both players “briefly engage and disengage during the rebound” and the non-call was correct.
“Because I didn’t [foul him],” Harris said. “I don’t understand it. I’ve seen a little bit of that [take] and to be honest, I thought that [Hart] pulled my arm in. It can go both ways selectively, whatever somebody wants to believe.
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“Then I see pictures saying that I’m out of bounds, it just made me really realize that the internet propaganda is just unbelievable. You can really get sold, I promise you. One of them I was like, dang, maybe I am out of bounds. Then I look at another angle and I’m like, hell no, I’m not out of bounds. Who is splitting all these photos and lies?”
Instead, Harris insisted the first four games of the series simply have been “very physical” on both sides.
“We talk all game long, guys go in for boards, pushing and shoving. Josh Hart is shoving. I’m shoving. We’re trying to get the basketball, right?” Harris said. “So at the end of the day, to me, at that point, when I went for the rebound, I was like, ‘dang, that was a battle to get the board.’
“I thought maybe they could have called a foul there. They didn’t. But on Tim Hardaway’s shot, that was what it was.”
