Game 3 of the first-round series between the Detroit Pistons and the New York Knicks was in its closing moments. With 0.5 seconds left in regulation and the Knicks up two, the buzzer sounded after Jalen Brunson intentionally missed a free throw while no Pistons player touched the ball.
With that mistake from the timekeeper, the referees let the Pistons have the ball to get one last shot in before time expired. Ultimately, it didn’t affect the final result of the game, though it bred some skepticism.
Knicks Fans Not Pleased With Pistons Timekeeper
Even though the Knicks came away victorious, fans were not too happy with the Pistons getting another shot when they technically shouldn’t have. One fan demanded the timekeeper lose his job for his error.
“Time keeper in the Knicks game should be fired before he leaves the arena. Blatantly trying to rig a playoff game,” the fan wrote with a frustration emoji at the end.
Another fan agreed with the sentiment but sarcastically took it one step further, writing, “Pistons timekeeper should be sent to Guantanamo Bay.”
Another reinforced the notion that the game was rigged, writing, “The Pistons timekeeper really tried to cheat.”
It’s hard not to sympathize with Knicks fans here. Brunson intentionally missed the free throw up two because the Pistons would not have had the time to get the rebound and hoist a near-full-court shot. They also had no timeouts to advance the ball.
Because the timekeeper messed up, the Pistons technically had a non-zero chance to tie or win the game. If Detroit had pulled off the miracle and won the game in regulation or overtime, there would have been a massive outcry demanding consequences, that’s for sure.
Thankfully, it didn’t prove to be a grave error when all was said and done. The Pistons threw the ball away, and the Knicks pulled off a win in Motown to take a 2-1 lead in the series.
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What could have made this worse, had the game been determined by the blunder, is that this Pistons-Knicks series has been awesome from start to finish. The two teams have been neck and neck for the first three games. It would’ve been a shame to have that mistake overshadow the playoffs’ most entertaining series so far.
With any luck, this series will go the distance after a very entertaining trio of games, and if it does, here’s hoping no controversies get in the way of the final result.
