The Houston Rockets picked up a 105-103 win over the New York Knicks on Monday night, although it came with a bit of controversy at the very end. While Houston led by as many as 11 points in the fourth quarter, New York was able to come back and tie things up at 103 with less than 10 seconds to go. It looked like things were headed to overtime, as Aaron Holiday threw up a prayer with one hand from way behind the three-point line that missed.
And then, the whistle sounded. The official near Holiday called Jalen Brunson for a foul on his contest, which sent Holiday to the line for three free throws.
WOW!!!
Knicks get the block, then Brunson fouls Holiday on a 3-point attempt! pic.twitter.com/MTzMRzBLmf
— Oh No He Didn't (@ohnohedidnt24) February 13, 2024
Brunson clearly contested this Holiday heave. Bad call by the refs pic.twitter.com/wJwIpIoGHA
— Oh No He Didn't (@ohnohedidnt24) February 13, 2024
Holiday went to the stripe, where he hit his first two shots with 0.1 seconds left on the clock before missing the third. Tom Thibodeau still thought that there was time remaining on the clock, so he tried to draw up a play while the referees looked at the clock. And when it was determined that there was no time left, Thibodeau was unsurprisingly furious.
Tom Thibodeau draws up a play, finds out the game is over and is PISSED pic.twitter.com/cIdoUWLpPK
— Oh No He Didn't (@ohnohedidnt24) February 13, 2024
The foul on Brunson was one of the worst calls we’ve seen out of an official this season, as it really did not look like there was a foul here at all. Regardless, this will assuredly receive a ton of attention when the NBA publishes its Last Two Minute Report for this game on Tuesday.