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Game 3 between the Detroit Pistons and the New York Knicks concluded dramatically. The emotions escalated in a few closing areas as the Pistons came up short in their 118-116 loss.
The officials allowed a no-call late in the fourth quarter during a drive by Cade Cunningham to the basket. The shot was heavily contested with a lot of contact by Karl-Anthony Towns. Controversy continued with 5.8 seconds left in the game as Knicks guard Jalen Brunson appeared to commit a backcourt violation.
However, the referees made no call on the play. Pistons' head coach J.B. Bickerstaff expressed his issue with the officials during the postgame media session.
“It’s frustrating for a bunch of different reasons,” Bickerstaff stated. “I thought in the second half we played hard enough to win the game. There’s some procedural things that we've got questions on. If you catch the ball, have possession and put it down, to me, the possession is in the frontcourt. The ball has to be thrown in the backcourt. If you catch it in the frontcourt, it’s not in the backcourt. Maybe I’m wrong, but we’ll see.”
A pool report was released after the game explaining the result of the non-call by the officials. Crew Chief Zach Zarba explained the play citing Rule 4, Section 6G stating “the front court back court status is not obtained until a player with the ball has established a positive position in either half in this instance, during the throw in the last two minutes of the fourth period and the last two minutes in any overtime period. So, obviously that is where we were at that point. Brunson and the trajectory of the pass were headed towards the backcourt. Brunson's momentum was taking him there when he touches the ball. Due to that momentum he's not considered in a positive position at that time. That's why that play is legal.”
Bickerstaff received support in his sentiments from Pistons' All-Star Cade Cunningham. The 6-foot-7 point guard expressed his concern after the controversial moment, but advised this was not what lost the game for Detroit.
High hometown energy for Pistons' playoff home-opener
Thursday night's matchup marked the first postseason home game for the Pistons since 2019. The hometown crowd showed up with an energetic tone ready to make a difference. The Pistons' faithful were on edge from the start cheering for Detroit and even offered a harsh reception for Brunson whenever he touched the basketball.
There was a nostalgic embrace as the Pistons played the iconic “Final Countdown” during the player introduction. Detroit even made it a point to highlight the stars of the city including Detroit Lions players Jahmyr Gibbs, Amon-Ra St. Brown and Craig Reynolds, Detroit Tigers, rap artists Big Sean, Tee Grizzley, Babyface Ray, and former Pistons in the crowd like Ben Wallace and Richard Hamilton.
New York was able to respond with a quick lead to open the game and answering each run made by the Pistons. Brunson even found himself in early foul trouble, but the key difference maker for the Knicks was Towns. The All-Star center followed a quiet Game 2 by showing out with 31 points on 10-of-18 shooting from the field and 4-of-8 from 3-point range.
The Pistons opened up with a slow performance as they missed their first seven field goal attempts. Detroit also had a tough time limiting the high powered offense from the other starters from New York. Their starters accounted for 109 of the Knicks points, including 30 from Brunson, 22 from O.G. Anunoby, and 20 from Mikal Bridges.
Cunningham and Tim Hardaway Jr. each had 24 points to lead the Pistons in scoring. Cunningham flirted with his first career postseason triple-double with 11 assists and seven rebounds.
Detroit's frontcourt was limited in production courtesy of foul trouble. Tobias Harris and Jalen Duren each registered five fouls and Ausar Thompson had four of his own. Duren was able to put together 16 points in 32 minutes, but the other two starters were relatively quiet.
Thompson only played 17 minutes and only scored seven points. Harris was held by the Knicks five points in 31 minutes. The Pistons will need bounce back performances from their frontcourt starters if they hope to tie the series to 2-2 in Game 4.
