Detroit Pistons head coach Monty Williams made his peace with the 113-111 loss to the New York Knicks before leaving his press conference Monday night.
The Pistons led 111-110 when New York’s Donte DiVincenzo handed the ball off to Ausar Thompson. As the rookie tried to dribble the ball down the court, DiVincenzo ducked into his legs, causing him to stumble and fall.
Instead of blowing the whistle on the obvious contact, the officials allowed the game to continue while Jalen Brunson retained possession for the Knicks. Brunson then found Josh Hart, who secured a three-point play to win the game for New York.
“The absolute worst decision of the season,” Williams said of the final sequence to open his presser. ‘No call. And enough is enough. We did it the right way, we called the league and submitted clips. We are tired of hearing the same things over and over again.
‘We had a chance to win the game, and the man dived into Ausar’s legs. And there was a no-call, which is an abomination. You can’t miss that in an NBA game, period.”
Monty Williams left his post-game press conference after a close loss to the Knicks
Williams was furious about a last-second no-call on Pistons power forward Ausar Thompson
‘I’m tired of talking about it. I’m tired of our guys asking me, ‘What else can we do, coach?’ That situation is Exhibit A of what we’ve been dealing with all season. And enough is enough. You can’t dive into someone’s legs on a big play like that without there being a no-call.”
‘It’s ridiculous and we’re tired of it. We just want a fair game, period. And I have nothing else to say. We want a fair game, and that wasn’t fair, I’m done with it.’
In a game that unfortunately slipped out of their hands, the Pistons rallied behind Cade Cunningham’s 32 points, five rebounds and eight assists. Jaden Ivey and Quentin Grimes each scored 14 points, while Simone Fontecchio and Jalen Duren scored 12 and 11, respectively.
Meanwhile, the same players involved in the Knicks’ final scene led them in scoring. Brunson, Hart and DiVincenzo had solid shifts with 35, 23 and 21 points respectively. Brunson also countered his scoring with 12 rebounds to secure a double-double.
The Pistons showed more efficiency, shooting 48.1 percent from the field, 46.7 percent from three and 80.8 percent from the free throw line in their losing effort.
On the other hand, the Knicks made 44.6 percent of their field goals, 38.5 percent of their threes and 76.2 percent of their charity points. New York also defeated the young Pistons 44-42 and scored more assists with 31 to Detroit’s 25.
Williams called the no-call the “absolute worst call of the season” as the Pistons move to 8-49
With the win, the Knicks improve to a 35-23 record and sit fourth in the Eastern Conference
Earlier this month, the Knicks found themselves on the other side of the equation and had a game taken away from them by questionable refereeing.
In a game against the Houston Rockets, Brunson contested a hailmarry attempt by Aaron Holiday from three. With the score tied at 103, Holiday went to the line with zero on the clock and won the match 103-105 for Houston.
After the match, head official Ed Malloy told the media that no foul should have been involved. The NBA’s final two-minute report also doubled down on the refereeing decision that gave New York the game.
The Knicks are now 35-23 this season and fourth in the Eastern Conference.
Meanwhile, the Pistons remain at the bottom of the conference with an 8-49 record, the worst in the NBA.