The NBA’s last two-minute report revealed two missed calls, but the whistle that determined the game against the Nets — Mitchell Robinson’s foul on James Johnson with 2.2 seconds left — wasn’t one of them.
The league ruled the foul was called correctly, but there were two mistakes — both that went against the Knicks. The NBA said there should’ve been a foul called on James Harden when he made contact with Julius Randle’s arm with 1:49 remaining on a jump shot. A frustrated Randle was later given a technical foul after arguing with the officials. Additionally, on the play that Johnson was fouled by Robinson, LaMarcus Aldridge should’ve been called for a three-second violation.
After the loss, coach Tom Thibodeau was seething, saying he was “pissed.” He pointed to the disparity in free-throw attempts — the Nets took 25 and the Knicks just 12 — and suggested the officiating wasn’t consistent. After the buzzer, Randle chased referee Jason Goldenberg at one point.
On Wednesday, though, the Knicks coach didn’t want to revisit the calls.
“You just got to move on. That’s the league,” Thibodeau said. “You can’t think about what happened yesterday. You have to think about what’s coming. So that’s where we are.”
Immanuel Quickley raved about how Kemba Walker has handled his demotion from starter to being out of the rotation.
“He’s in good spirits. He cheers me on like he’s still playing 40 minutes a game,” the second-year guard said. “You can’t ask for anything better than that in a teammate. We really respect him.”
After playing just nine minutes due to a non-COVID-19 illness against the Nets on Tuesday, RJ Barrett was feeling a little better on Wednesday, Thibodeau said.
