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NBA Referee Makes Statement After Pistons-Knicks Controversy

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Zachary Rainey | Last updated Apr 27, 2025 5:24 PM ET

The Round 1 NBA Playoff series between the Detroit Pistons and New York Knicks has been one of pure entertainment. Well, depending on what side you're on.

For the second-straight game, things came down to the wire. In Game 3, it looked as though Jalen Brunson could've been called for a backcourt violation in the closing seconds but was ruled that his momentum carried him over the line.

Brunson suffered an apparent injury in Game 3 and exited to the locker room briefly. But just as he did in Game 1, Brunson came back and led the charge for the Knicks, who were down eight when he checked in.

NBA Referee delivers statement following controversy

The Knicks were able to catch up and take the lead. It turned into a back-and-forth a fair for a bit down the stretch.

A jumper from Tim Hardaway Jr. put the Pistons back up four with 1:52 to go. That proved to be the last points the Pistons would score.

Karl-Anthony Towns hit a two-point jumper to cut the deficit to one. The next time down, he hit a difficult 3-pointer to put the Knicks up two.

Cunningham turned the ball over after Josh Hart rotated over to swat the ball out of his hands and off Cunningham's leg. The Pistons got bailed out on the ensuing defensive possession when Brunson missed a floating layup.

Cunningham got the ball with a chance to tie, but missed a 15-foot jumper. The ball got hit around and ended up in Hardaway Jr.'s hands for the final shot.

He pump-faked Hart into the air and appeared to draw contact on the game-winning attempt, but no foul was called.

NBA referee David Guthrie gave his comments to a pool reporter after the game.

"During live play, it was judged that Josh Hart made a legal defensive play," Guthrie said. "After postgame review, we observed that Hart makes body contact that is more than marginal to Hardaway Jr. and a foul should have been called."

While the league is attempting to be transparent with their mistakes, its of little to no meaning to Pistons fans.

There's nothing that can be changed about the outcome other than that J.B. Bickerstaff can feel vindicated in his conviction of the referees.

The Knicks will now head into a closeout game, in Game 5 on Tuesday night, back at Madison Square Garden.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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