Stephen A. Smith defends controversial no-call in Knicks-Pistons game

Stephen A. Smith knows there was a foul at the end of the physical Game 4 between the New York Knicks and Detroit Pistons, but that doesn’t mean a foul should have been called.

Trailing by one, Detroit’s Tim Hardaway Jr. was hit by New York’s Josh Hart during a three-point shot attempt as time expired. After the shot failed to even hit the rim, the Pistons and their entire fanbase looked to the officials for a foul call, but it never came. Game over. Knicks take a commanding 3-1 lead in the series.

Following the game, crew chief David Guthrie admitted a foul should have been called on Hart. Not that the admission changes anything other than pouring salt in the wound.

Monday morning, Stephen A. Smith similarly admitted Hart made illegal contact with Hardaway on the shot, but he defended the no-call.

“They were letting them play all game long…There was consistency with that regard. It wasn’t like they were calling this and then all of a sudden they missed this call!” – Stephen A. Smith on controversial no-call from Knicks-Pistons pic.twitter.com/1FP5KFMarm

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) April 28, 2025

“It was a foul. He got fouled. No doubt about it. Tim Hardaway Jr. got fouled, right in that left corner, there is no question about it,” Smith said. “Nobody is saying it’s not a foul. But the point is, oh my God, stop the presses a call was missed! I mean, stop the presses, it’s never happened before in basketball history.”

“They were letting them play all game long!” Smith continued. “That’s the one thing we can’t ignore in all of this. There was consistency with that regard. It wasn’t like they were calling this and then all of a sudden, they missed that call! I saw plenty of plays on both ends of the floor where cats were getting mugged and the officials said, ‘y’all playing today. This is the tempo.’ That’s what it is!”

The Pistons had a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter. Don’t rely on the officials to bail you out of blowing that lead. Take the final score as evidence that this was a physical brand of basketball the entire team. 94-93. How often do we see both teams fail to score 100 points?

Prior to the missed call on Hardaway, there was a missed call on Hart. Tobias Harris could have been called for a loose ball foul while battling Hart for the rebound. Harris also appeared to be out of bounds when he touched the ball before it was kicked out to Hardaway for the final shot attempt.

Smith is right. Sure, Hardaway Jr. was fouled on the final shot. But based in the way the entire game was called, sending him to the line for three free throws to end the game would have been more egregious than holding onto the whistle in that moment. Full disclosure: this was written by a die-hard Knicks fan.