NBA teams
Ian Begley, ESPN Staff Writer 7y

NBA's report reveals 3 errors in final minutes of Knicks-Raptors

NBA, Toronto Raptors, New York Knicks

NEW YORK -- The NBA says that referees ruled incorrectly on three calls that favored the Toronto Raptors in the final two minutes of their one-point win over the New York Knicks on Monday night.

The league's daily Two Minute Report notes that Cory Joseph committed an offensive foul on Lance Thomas with 1:12 remaining in the fourth quarter that was missed; the Raptors corralled an offensive rebound on the play and missed a subsequent shot.

The league also says referees should have called an offensive foul on Joseph when he screened Thomas illegally, helping DeMar DeRozan to score a layup that gave Toronto a two-point lead with 30 seconds to play.

Lastly, the NBA says Joseph committed a loose-ball foul on Willy Hernangomez that wasn't called on a play that ended with Courtney Lee making 3-point shot to give the Knicks a one-point lead with 10 seconds to go.

Carmelo Anthony missed an open 3-point attempt on the Knicks' next possession -- their last of the game -- to seal the loss for New York. Some felt that Toronto's Serge Ibaka committed a foul on Lee when the Knicks attempted to inbound the ball on their final possession. Ibaka seemed to grab Lee as he ran near the top of the key and headed to the basket. The NBA, though, said that referees were correct in not calling a foul, stating that Ibaka made "marginal" contact with Lee with 1.9 seconds remaining and did not impact his freedom of movement.

If officials had called a foul on Ibaka, the Knicks, who earlier in the game had a 17-point lead, would have been given a free throw and possession of the ball.

The loss was New York's seventh in 10 games. The Knicks (24-36) enter play Tuesday 5.5 games out of the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

^ Back to Top ^