The New York Knicks lost to the Houston Rockets on a call so egregious that even Mike Breen was willing to criticize an NBA referee.
After a valiant comeback in Houston Monday night, the Knicks appeared destined for overtime in the closing seconds of the game until Rockets guard Aaron Holiday threw up a prayer and benefited from one of the most controversial calls this season. Tied at 103, with five seconds to go, Precious Achiuwa blocked Jalen Green’s layup attempt, sending the ball to Holiday who heaved an off balance shot to beat the buzzer. The shot missed, but Knicks All-Star Jalen Brunson defended the attempt and was called for a stunning foul by referee Jacyn Goble.
“I don’t see how you call a foul on that shot” – Mike Breen pic.twitter.com/5dA4LnWBrh
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) February 13, 2024
“A foul! A foul called on Jalen Brunson!” Breen said on the MSG broadcast alongside analyst Wally Szczerbiak. “The Knicks are stunned!”
The officials reviewed the play to determine when the foul occurred and how much time should be placed on the clock. But without a challenge available, the Knicks could not overturn the call, which meant Holiday was going to the line for three free throws with 0.3 seconds left in the game. Tim Donaghy was trending after the call, which is a place the NBA never wants to be in.
The Knicks were stunned, but upon seeing the play and the foul call again, Breen was stunned too. “I don’t see how you call a foul on that shot,” Breen said definitively after watching the replay. The iconic NBA play-by-play voice would go on to call it a “horrific” ending for the Knicks.
That might sound like a mild critique for some broadcasters, but for Breen, “I don’t see how you call a foul on that shot” is about as harsh as you can get. Breen is notoriously defensive of NBA officials, a trait that was often highlighted by Jeff Van Gundy’s willingness to regularly roast the refs back when they were broadcast partners on ESPN.
But Breen’s dismay over this particular call was warranted. After the game, crew chief Ed Malloy admitted the foul shouldn’t have been called, noting the contact was “incidental and marginal to the shot attempt.”
[MSG]
