The New York Knicks have had their share of strange sequences before, but they would have never thought time travel was going to be one of them. On Sunday versus the Atlanta Hawks, both teams had to go back in time after an error in judgment on the part of the officials.
The referees addressed the incident in an official statement that ESPN’s Ian Bagley shared on Twitter.
At the 3:49 mark in the fourth quarter, Kent Bazemore was fouled taking a 3-pointer and went to the line to shoot three free-throws. After missing his second shot, the Knicks rebounded the ball and the players all went back down to the other end of the court. Everyone, including the referees, forgot that Bazemore was supposed to take one more foul shot.
In the ensuing play, Tim Hardaway Jr. dunked and was fouled. When they reviewed Bazemore’s free throws and how many he was awarded, the officials went back in time to give him one more shot. To the chagrin of the Knicks, Hardaway’s basket was waved off along with any and every stat that ensued, and the play was resumed with 3:49 again remaining in the game.
In Bagley’s post, referee crew chief Pat Fraher clarified the situation. Here was the explanation:
“Q: Why did the play continue after Bazemore's second free throw and why did Hardaway's basket not count?
A: What was called was a 3-shot foul and not 2. So, played continued erroneously after two free throws, now we go down to the other end of the floor and we have a foul. Then it was brought to our attention that we should've shot one extra free throw. The rule under correctable errors is, do you want the citation? It says if there's a merited free throw that was not shot, that was to remain in play, which was what our situation was, than if under 24 seconds have elapsed, we go back to the point of interruption, reset the game clock, and nullify all play that happens up until that point.
Q: What would happen if it happened after 25 seconds?
A: That play would count, the foul would count. We'd still go back and we'd correct the error but since it was over 24 seconds, we would play from where the foul happened. Since it was under 24, we nullify all play and we go back to the point of interruption.”
To make matters worse, the Knicks gave up a 93-87 lead with 2:16 left to play, losing 99-96 to the Hawks. Unfortunately for New York, the final result is irreversible regardless of any time machine they may have in their hands.
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