It is a universally accepted fact that the officials got it wrong at the end of the game between the New York Knicks and Houston Rockets on Feb. 12.
The Knicks certainly thought the call was wrong. The crew chief admitted the call was wrong. On Wednesday, even the NBA admitted the call was wrong. But not enough to grant the Knicks their protest of the game.
The NBA announced it was denying the protest on the basis of the error being "an error in judgement by game officials" rather than "a misapplication of the official playing rules."
The call in question:
Jalen Brunson was called for this foul with the game tied and the clock approaching zero.
— Def Pen Hoops (@DefPenHoops) February 13, 2024
Holiday hit 2 free throws and the Rockets won.
Fair or nah? 🧐 pic.twitter.com/z2BQv9W98s
The NBA's full statement:
The NBA today denied the New York Knicks' protest of their 105-103 loss to the Houston Rockets on February 12, 2024.
The Knicks protested the result of the game on the ground that a shooting foul was called incorrectly on the Knicks' Jalen Brunson for making contact with the Rockets' Aaron Holiday during a last-second shot attempt. Under the standard for NBA game protests, New York was required to demonstrate that there was a misapplication of the official playing rules, as opposed to an error in judgment by game officials. Because the foul call at issue reflected an error in judgment, New York did not demonstrate a misapplication of the playing rules, and the extraordinary remedy of upholding a game protest was not warranted.
