Pistons-Knicks Game 4 decided by controversial foul no-call on final play

The New York Knicks return to Madison Square Garden with a 3-1 advantage in their first round against the Detroit Pistons in the NBA playoffs of 2025. The Knicks complete a dramatic return of the fourth quarter in game 4 to steal a 94-93 victory that was reduced to a controversial final sequence.

Karl Anthony-Towns put the Knicks in front with less than a minute, removing in the regulation with an incredible pair of shots: first, a baseline fadea that arched on the rear track and through the network, and then a 27 feet step for three. Detroit had a last chance to take the lead with 11 seconds removering. The Pistons put the ball in the hands of Gift Cunningham, but New York striker Og Anunoby was able to force a lady. The ball loose somehow went out to the Panistons guard, Tim Hardaway Jr. on the corner, and that was when things got a bit crazy.

Josh Hart ran to dispute Hardeway’s shot. Hart withdrew his arms to avoid foul, but he clearly hit Hardaway with his body. The chief coach of the Pistons, JB BickerStaff, was furious after the game shouted for a missing call. After the game, the referees admitted that they should have a foul in the pool report.

Look at the work here:

Here is another angle of Hardaway’s final shot. That is a lot of contact, but the referees swallowed the whistle.

BickerStaff was still upset by the non -called after the game. “I don’t know another way to avoid it. There is contact in your jumping shot.”

The referees basically said “my bad” in the game that decides not to call in the pool report after the game.

Hardaway could have been going to the line for three shots with Detroit one in recent seconds. Instead, the Knicks will return to MSG a victory far from advancing to the second round.

Game 4 was a classic of the Eastern Conference of the old Knicks and Pistons school. This series has been a pleasure to see, and this was the best chapter so far.