The banged-up, slumping New York Knicks (33-21) could have used a victory Monday night against the Houston Rockets (24-29) but fell victim to a controversial call late. Actually, the officiating decision in question, which charged Jalen Brunson with a foul on Aaron Holiday as time nearly expired, did not appear to be so controversial at all.

The Last 2 Minute Report and referee crew chief Ed Malloy both determined that the only contact the All-Star guard made on the shooter's 3-point attempt was incidental and not in violation with the rules. Hence, why the Knicks are filing a protest to the NBA to challenge the 105-103 loss, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

The success rate for these protests is predictably minuscule, with only six ever being formally validated in the history of the league. The nature of these circumstances, however, could realistically work in New York's favor.

Why the NBA might actually uphold the Knicks' protest

There was only 0.1 seconds remaining on the clock when the whistle was blown, so overtime was inevitable with the score tied at 103. There are no other scenarios to ponder, meaning the NBA has the perfect opportunity to reward Brunson's good defense and extend the game another five minutes, or whatever it takes to get a winner.

Wojnarowski effectively sums up the situation while letting fans know approximately how long they have to wait for The Association to make a ruling in a thread on X.

“The Knicks and Rockets aren’t scheduled to play again this season, but the hope would be to win the protest and play an overtime period to complete the game,” the insider posted. “An NBA team has 48 hours to file a protest with the league office and five days to provide evidence of the protested action. After that, the league office has five more days to make a decision.”

Jalen Brunson and all of New York were seething after the game was incorrectly ended on the free throw line. Could they be awarded a surprise chance to change history and thereby end what is currently a three-game losing skid? Time will tell, but the Knicks must direct their focus to Wednesday's meeting with the Orlando Magic.