In a controversial ending to Monday’s matchup against the Houston Rockets, officials made an erroneous call by charging New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson with a shooting foul, as confirmed by crew chief Ed Malloy.
With a mere 0.1 seconds remaining in the tied game, the referees mistakenly penalized Brunson for a foul on Aaron Holiday’s attempted three-pointer. Holiday capitalized on the opportunity, sinking two out of three free throws to secure the victory.
It was Brunson himself who had previously made an impressive step-back shot to even the score in the dying moments of the game.
“After seeing it during postgame review, the offensive player was able to return to a normal playing position on the floor,” Malloy said, according to The Athletic’s Fred Katz. “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.
When questioned about the foul after the game, Brunson provided a composed response, humorously stating, “Great call. Next question,” on all three occasions, as reported by Katz.
Meanwhile, Knicks wing Josh Hart seemed to express his discontent with Malloy’s remarks through social media.
With this defeat, the Knicks’ record now stands at 33-21. They are set to face the Orlando Magic in their upcoming game on Tuesday.