Ref That! Knicks-Rockets Official Admits Bad Call Against Brunson

The New York Knicks were denied overtime and a chance to complete a comeback from 16 points down thanks to an erroneous foul call against Jalen Brunson.

The New York Knicks won't have to wait until the release of the Last Two Minutes Report for vindication surrounding their anger toward the ending of Monday's game at Toyota Center.

New York was doomed to a 105-103 defeat at the hands of the Houston Rockets in its penultimate game before the upcoming All-Star break. The loss, the Knicks' third in a row and fourth in the past five games, was dealt in controversial fashion. 

Troy Taromina, USA TODAY SPORTS

With the Knicks (33-21) having erased a 16-point deficit to tie the game at 103 with less than 10 seconds remaining, overtime seemed inevitable. But Jalen Brunson, who had knotted up the game with a jumper only seconds before, was charged with a three free throw shooting foul as Aaron Holiday put up a desperation heave just before the regulation buzzer. 

Brunson was accused of making contact with Holiday in the process of the shot, which was clearly out of the latter's hands by the time the horn sounded. But, in a pool report obtained by Fred Katz of The Athletic, crew chief Ed Malloy admitted that Brunson should not have been charged. 

"After seeing it during postgame review, the offensive player was able to return to a normal playing position on the floor," 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." 

Holiday sank two free throws before intentionally missing the third, allowing the final three-tenths of a second to expire. The Knicks were unable to challenge the call against Brunson, having lost their query on an unsuccessful challenge of a Taj Gibson shooting foul in the penultimate minute of the first half. 

Malloy's admission will likely do little to pacify the Knicks, who were understandably cross with the way Monday's game ended. Officiating as a whole was a point of contention in the visiting locker room, as the Knicks were rewarded with only a dozen free throws compared to 33 for Houston (24-29).

“The thing with the officials, this is the way I feel about that in general, is I don’t really care how tight the game is called. You can call it tight or you can call it loose. I just want consistency to be the same,” head coach Tom Thibodeau said, per Stefan Bondy of the New York Post. “They have a job: they have to control and manage the game. That’s their No. 1 responsibility. They have to use their judgment and I have respect for that. So it didn’t go our way tonight.”

Are HOU Kidding? Brunson, Knicks Fall to Rockets in Controversial Fashion

The Knicks will return to action on Wednesday night when they face the Orlando Magic in Central Florida (7 p.m. ET, MSG).