Protest Denied: The loss to the Rockets will stand

In a disappointing, but unsurprising, decision, the NBA has denied the New York Knicks’ protest of a recent loss to the Houston Rockets.

The Knickerbockers were in Texas on February 12 for the game. After falling behind 57-43 at halftime, New York held Houston to just 17 third-quarter points and tied the score at 103 with eight seconds remaining in regulation thanks to a Jalen Brunson jumper.

After a timeout, the Rockets’ Jalen Green was blocked by Precious Achiuwa in the paint with one second on the clock. The deflected ball reached Aaron Holiday behind the arc, who heaved a hail Mary. Although Jalen Brunson attempted to avoid contact, Holiday initiated a mid-air bump that received a generous whistle. With 0.1 seconds on the clock, Holiday made two of three free-throws to win the game. Final score, 105-103.

Following the game, New York filed a formal protest with the league. Today the NBA gave their ruling. From NBA.com:

Under the standard for NBA game protests, New York was required to demonstrate that there was a misapplication of the official playing rules, as opposed to an error in judgment by game officials. Because the foul call at issue reflected an error in judgment, New York did not demonstrate a misapplication of the playing rules, and the extraordinary remedy of upholding a game protest was not warranted.

Not a shock but still a bummer. In the top-tier of the Eastern Conference, every win and loss matters. With luck, this won’t negatively affect New York’s playoff seeding.

Here are the final minutes of the game.

Go Knicks!