The New York Knicks left the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit with a 94-93 win in Game 4 over the Detroit Pistons. It was their second-straight home loss, which now has them looking ahead at overturning a 3-1 series deficit. This isn’t a fair outcome, as the Pistons should’ve had the opportunity to seal the win at the free-throw line in Game 4, but the referees never gave them their rightful opportunity.
On the final play of the game, Pistons’ shooters Tim Hardaway Jr. attempted a corner three, which was contested by Josh Hart, who flew in to contest the attempt and make inarguable contact with Hardaway.
— . (@dphoop2425) April 27, 2025
While the Pistons’ cries for a foul were ignored in the moment, crew chief David Guthrie was forced to admit the truth in the post-game Pool Report.
Question: “What did you see on that last series and why wasn’t there a foul called on Tim Hardaway Jr.’s three-point attempt?”
David Guthrie, Crew Chief: “During live play, it was judged that Josh Hart made a legal defensive play. After postgame review, we observed that Hart makes body contact that is more than marginal to Hardaway Jr., and a foul should have been called.”
Pistons fans are rightfully furious at how this game has played out. There’s a major difference between going back on the road in a straight 2-2 series and going on the road down 3-1. Instead of getting the former, the Pistons are facing the latter in what is now expected to be a near-guarantee that the Knicks will pass.
Game 5 will be crucial for Detroit to send a message to the Knicks after this loss. Despite the poor outcome, Cade Cunningham notched his first Playoff triple-double with 25 points (11-23 FG), 10 rebounds, and 10 assists, while Tobias Harris put up 18 points (6-15 FG) and eight rebounds. Tim Hardaway Jr. (5-16 FG) contributed 14 points while Malik Beasley had 13 points (5-12 FG).
The Knicks were led by Jalen Brunson, who put up 32 points (13-26 FG), five rebounds, and 11 assists in the win. Karl-Anthony Towns played his role with 27 points (10-23 FG) and nine rebounds.
Josh Hart might’ve avoided a penalty for his buzzer-beating three-point foul, but he did contribute to this win with a monster stat line of 15 points (4-9 FG), 10 rebounds, five assists, and four steals. Outside of these three, no other Knicks scored in double digits.
