The NBA is standing firm on a controversial offensive foul that directly impacted the end of the New York Knicks’ win over the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday. The Knicks escaped with a 113-111 win over the Mavericks after Brandon Williams’ game-tying layup was waved off due to a hook on Knicks guard Landry Shamet.
In the Last Two Minute report, the league’s assessment of the officiating in the final minutes of close games, the NBA said officials correctly called the foul on Williams, which came with 0.7 seconds left on the clock. The call essentially secured the two-point victory for the Knicks, leaving Dallas stunned.
However, the NBA did say officials were wrong on an earlier foul. With seven seconds left on the clock, Mavericks forward P.J. Washington was called for a personal foul on Knicks center Mitchell Robinson, which the league said should not have been ruled a foul.
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Robinson missed both of the free-throw attempts, so the call did not have an effect on the final score.
Robinson was not the only player struggling from the free-throw line: The Knicks went 1-of-6 on free throws in the final 22 seconds of the game, wasting several chances to seal a win over the Mavericks. Jalen Brunson split his free throws in the final seconds, giving Dallas a chance to tie the game with a layup instead of a 3-pointer.
In the postgame news conference, Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd praised center Dereck Lively for successfully running the play and called the foul on Williams a “tough call.”
The loss pushed Dallas to 4-12, with the team playing without rookie Cooper Flagg for the first time this season. Flagg was ruled out of Wednesday’s game with an illness, but is available for Friday’s NBA Cup game against the New Orleans Pelicans at home.
