The NBA admitted the referees missed a crucial call at the end of the New York Knicks loss Wednesday to the Milwaukee Bucks.
The New York Knicks are on a six-game losing streak. They haven’t had things go their way recently. The bad luck continued when they blew a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter and lost to the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night.
They lost the game at the buzzer as Giannis Antetokounmpo hit the game-winning shot over Lance Thomas. But the shot should have not counted.
The NBA announced the referees in the game missed a five-second call on Antetokounmpo. Coach Jeff Hornacek said he thought Antetokounmpo committed a five-second violation but knows the referees would not call it in that situation.
The league’s last 2-minute report stated, “Antetokounmpo begins his dribble with his back to the basket at 7.8 seconds, at which point the 5-second count starts, and then gathers the ball and begins to turn towards the basket for the shot at 2.2 seconds, thus ending the count.”
Giannis hits buzzer-beater to sink the Knicks pic.twitter.com/tDim57DfKT
— Tommy Beer (@TommyBeer) January 5, 2017
Many also felt the referees missed a call on Antetokounmpo on the inbound pass to Derrick Rose, which led to a turnover giving the Bucks the ball back with eight seconds left.
Fans have not been happy with the referees over the past few games. This certainly will not make them feel any better about the officiating.
But did this call really cost the New York Knicks the game? Well, the call was missed so yeah, but the shame is really on the Knicks.
They had a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter. They didn’t come out in the final 12 minutes with the right intensity. And because of this, they allowed the Bucks back into the game.
Also, by allowing the Bucks back into the game, they forced the referees to have to make tough calls in tight situations.
At the end of the day, it is easy to blame the officials for the missed call costing the New York Knicks the game. But the fault is truly the Knicks for their failed execution down the stretch.
