On Monday, in a nail-biting clash between the Detroit Pistons and the New York Knicks, the latter won with a 113-111 win. However, the game was marred by a controversial missed foul that has ignited a storm of criticism.
With 8.5 seconds left on the clock, Knicks guard Donte DiVincenzo collided with Pistons forward Ausar Thompson. However, the collision went unnoticed by the referees. The no-call triggered Pistons coach Monty Williams and he labeled it as the “absolute worst call of the season.”
Monty Williams expressed frustration over what he perceived as a season’s worth of mistreatment from the officials. He asked for the team’s efforts in reaching out to the league and sending in clips to highlight officiating discrepancies. The coach declared, “Enough’s enough. We want a fair game called. Period.”
Now, referee James Williams, the crew chief, admitted in a postgame pool report that a foul should have been called on DiVincenzo.
Williams stated:
“Upon postgame review, we determined that Thompson gets to the ball first and then was deprived of the opportunity to gain possession of the ball. Therefore, a loose ball foul should have been whistled on New York’s Donte DiVincenzo.”
The controversial call left the Pistons (8-49) on the losing end for the second consecutive game.
Note: The chaotic sequence leading to the missed call involved multiple plays, including a potential foul on Pistons guard Quentin Grimes, which James Williams defended as a correct call in the pool report.
Adding to the Pistons’ dismay, the game was originally slated to be played in Detroit but was moved to New York due to an in-season tournament scheduling quirk.
