As the New York Knicks have been visibly frustrated with the officials as apparent in the Game 2 loss to the Detroit Pistons last Monday, the goal has been to overcome that mental obstacle. One player who's been known to go back and forth with the referees has been Knicks star Josh Hart as he spoke before Game 3 about owning up to his mistakes.

Hart would admit that sharing their grievences to the officials gets them away from the game and ruins the momentum and even expressed how he “responded terribly” according to SNY Knicks. One of the reasons for the verbal confrontations with the referees is due to the lack of calls on their end as looking at the first half, New York only had two free throw attempts while Detroit had 14.

“That definitely takes you off your game, you know,” Hart said as he had 10 points on two of six shooting from the field to go along with seven rebounds and five assists. “I think controlling it, you know, just comes from within, just kind of focusing on control, we can control, you know, we can't control what they're calling, we can't control getting our first free throws at what 17 seconds on the clock right before halftime, that we can't control those kind of things. We can just control how we respond to it. And I think last game, I responded terribly, so I got to make sure I fix that. You know, KAT fixes that, and move on from it.”

Knicks looking to overcome arguing with officials 

New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) reacts during the second quarter of game two of the first round of the 2024 NBA Playoffs against the Detroit Pistons at Madison Square Garden
Jalen Brunson on April 21, 2025.
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With the Knicks looking to write off the Game 2 loss to the Pistons, the team has to look to lock in on the aspects that made them a talented and successful team in the first place, finishing the regular season third in the East with 51 wins. Even star Jalen Brunson spoke about talking with the officials and said the approach now is letting “them do their job,” as giving the calls power results in a “lack of focus.”

“We've had a lack of focus when it comes to that,” Brunson said via SNY Knicks as he scored 37 points in the Game 2 loss. “We've got to let them do their job and we've got to do ours.”

At any rate, New York looks to take a 2-1 series lead in Detroit for Game 3 on Thursday night.