The NBA has denied the New York Knicks' game protest of their 105-103 loss to the Houston Rockets on February 12, the league announced on Wednesday afternoon.

In what turned out to be a very controversial ending, one that the referees even admitted their own mistakes in, the Rockets were granted two free throws after it was deemed that Jalen Brunson fouled Aaron Holiday on a three-point attempt as time expired. The Rockets went on to make two free throws with 0.1 seconds remaining on the clock, resulting in a shocking victory for Houston.

The Knicks immediately decided to file a protest against this loss to the Rockets due to the events that had transpired at the conclusion of the game.

Per league release, the NBA ruled that under the standard for 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 gam protest was not warranted.

In shorter terms, the league upheld the final outcome of this game because errors made by the officials are natural and part of the game. Unfortunately for the Knicks, this is not the answer they were looking for, as they had a very good case for their protest.

However, in recent days, the Knicks were granted a similar fate to that of the Rockets just a few weeks ago. New York probably should have lost Monday night's game against the Detroit Pistons after appearing to foul Ausar Thompson with seconds remaining in the fourth quarter and trailing the Pistons by one point. Ultimately, the officials did not call a foul, the Knicks got a steal, and they converted a layup with 1.1 seconds remaining in order to escape the last-place Pistons with an unprecedented victory.

While the Knicks would have liked to see the outcome of their game against the Rockets play out differently as a result of their protest, the basketball gods gave them a win back against the Pistons. Basically, the matter was resolved by the basketball gods, as the Knicks won a game they were supposed to lose, and they lost a game they likely could have won in overtime.