Just over two weeks ago, things were looking insanely bright for the New York Knicks. With the addition of OG Anunoby (and the subtraction of the extremely mid RJ Barrett), the Knicks had become the hottest team in the NBA, easily dispatching last year's champion and rampaging past last year's nemesis, the Miami Heat.
But then Julius Randle tumbled onto his shoulder, dislocating it, Anunoby had a classic "it's a secret" Knicks injury that ended up requiring elbow surgery, Isaiah Hartenstein finally gave in to the insane Tom Thibodeau-level workload, and Jericho Sims…we kinda don't know what happened, but he also disappeared for a while. Needless to say, first-time all-star Jalen Brunson had to do a lot of battling mostly on his own, with his college teammates, an extremely tired Josh Hart and Dante DiVencenzo in tow, trying their hardest to keep the Knicks afloat. On Tuesday night in Houston, poor Taj Gibson, already plucked off a couch in Brooklyn twice this season, had to start.
And somehow, someway, in thrilling fashion, Brunson kept the Knicks in the game, and knocked down clutch shot after clutch shot down the stretch, overcoming late double-digit deficits to tie the game in the dwindling seconds of regulation:
guess who pic.twitter.com/cFxNWtsP3V
— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) February 13, 2024
That's good shit! Fun NBA action. Let's go Knicks. Let's find out what happened next:
NBA Officials just STOLE a game from the New York Knicks.
— KnicksMuse (@KnicksMuse) February 13, 2024
STOLEN. pic.twitter.com/ynLqOjXN4Y
The Knicks made a beautiful defensive stop, Precious Achiuwa made an acrobatic defensive play, swatting the ball away, and the Rockets heaved a last-second prayer of a shot.
But wait! The refs blew the whistle, saying Jalen "Job" Brunson had made contact with the shooter—awarding three free throws, essentially ending the game and deciding it for the Rockets.
Brunson was not happy:
This is an all-time postgame interview from Jalen Brunson.
— Mike Daddino (@mike_daddino) February 13, 2024
He ain't giving a penny to Adam Silver. pic.twitter.com/izBjDeZo1N
The NBA's chief official almost immediately admitted they got the call wrong:
Official Ed Malloy in pool report after Jalen Brunson's foul on Aaron Holiday at end of Rockets win over Knicks: "The contact which occurred after the release of the ball therefore is incidental and marginal to the shot attempt and should not have been called."
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 13, 2024
NBA referees, often more than any other sports officials, have a bit of a hero complex, as if they're somehow a main character in the drama of the sport. Whereas other officials would rather live with a "no call" to let players "play on," NBA officials often insert themselves into the narrative. This gives the NBA a bit of a wrestling angle, as anyone who has watched the game for a while knows that it's not quite an evenly called sport, and some fingers are on the scale in big moments.
So WHO was behind this blatant "referees deciding the game" moment? A small man with a lust for power? Oh yeah, we got a cop right here! FROM MIAMI!
13 year cop then just becomes an NBA ref. The type of dudes with a power fetish always end up in the same positions doing too much. All were probably bullied as kids pic.twitter.com/AeYy6JRRgR
— PeddyT (@PeddyTerkinss) February 13, 2024
We long for the days when NBA referees were just mobbed up dudes from outside of Philadelphia. At least then, they probably wouldn't have absolutely jobbed Villanova legend Jalen Brunson.
The Knicks have lost three in a row and are now fourth in the Eastern Conference. Apparently they play several more games this season. Please, someone come help Jalen Brunson. Everyone is working against him.
