This simply had to be a foul.
Tim Hardaway Jr. is one of the league's best 3-point shooters. If nothing else, look at where the basketball ended up, nowhere near the rim.
But that shouldn't even matter. The Detroit Pistons veteran was clearly bumped by Knicks wing Josh Hart during his shot attempt.
Video replays showed that Hardaway didn't even lean much in Hart's direction. Hart mostly came into him.
"It was a foul," ESPN's Kendrick Perkins said a few minutes after the game on the postgame show.
Did Tim Hardaway Jr. get fouled ? pic.twitter.com/HdhgVmYdzf
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MORE: Tim Hardaway Jr.'s NBA family tree
The Pistons trailed by one at the time of the non-call. Hardaway is a solid foul shooter and would've had a great chance of making at least two of the three free throws.
The Knicks likely would've had less than two seconds to try to get one final shot off.
The final play was a bit of a mad scramble after an initial missed shot, but the Pistons had to be happy with getting the ball kicked out in the corner to a good shooter.
Hardaway hesitated just a bit, which made Hart's closeout too close for comfort.
And in the end, there was contact.
The officials can decide games by calling fouls, but they can also decide games by not calling fouls.
Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff stormed onto the court, clearly upset, but there was nothing to be done.
The Knicks took a 3-1 series lead in controversial fashion, and the Pistons could do nothing about the lack of a whistle.
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