Pistons coach livid over controversial no-call as ref admits Knicks fouled on final Game 4 shot

J.B. Bickerstaff and the Pistons were apoplectic over a non-call on the final play of their crushing Game 4 loss Sunday to the Knicks.

Josh Hart appeared to make contact with Tim Hardaway Jr. while closing out on the former Knicks’ last-second 3-point heave from the left corner.

But no foul was called and the Knicks held on for a 94-93 victory for their second straight win in Detroit and a 3-1 series lead.

Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post

After the game, crew chief David Guthrie told a pool reporter that a foul should have been called on Hart. 

“During live play, it was judged that Josh Hart made a legal defensive play,” the statement read. “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.”

After the buzzer sounded, Bickerstaff was livid and stormed onto the court to plead with the referees, who let a physical play go on both sides throughout the game, for a foul call.

Game 5 is Tuesday at the Garden.

Tim Hardaway Jr. attempts a shot in the final seconds of the Pistons’ loss to the Knicks on April 27. Screengrab via X/@BadSportsRefs

Pistons guard Cade Cunningham came up short on a mid-range jump shot with 7.1 seconds left with a chance to take the lead, before the ball found its way to Hardaway in the corner following a loose-ball scramble beneath the basket.

A closing Hart appeared to bump Hardaway on the hip as he hoisted his double-clutch attempt.

Hart also looked like he was fouled under the basket while going for the initial rebound in that sequence.

“There’s contact on Tim Hardaway’s jump shot. I don’t know any other way around it, there’s contact on his jump shot,” Bickerstaff said after the game. “The guy leaves his feet, he’s at Timmy’s mercy. I repeat, there’s contact on his jump shot.”