The Houston Rockets won after a call the referees ruled was incorrect. Aaron Holiday scored 18 points, including two free throws following Jalen Brunson’s challenged foul call behind the 3-point line, to lead the Rockets to a 105-103 win over the New York Knicks on Monday night.
Houston had a four-point lead with less than a minute remaining before Brunson scored the next four points, including a jump jumper with 8.1 seconds left to level the game at 103.
Precious Achiuwa blocked Jalen Green’s short shot, and Holiday collected the ball beyond the arc and shot as Brunson came out at him, resulting in a foul.
After the game, crew chief Ed Malloy stated that during live action, “the lower body contact was illegal contact.” However, their opinion changed after a playback review.
“After seeing it during postgame review, the offensive player was able to return to a normal playing position on the floor,” the coach added. “The contact which occurred after the release of the ball therefore is incidental and marginal to the shot attempt and should not have been called.”
Holiday was asked about the show before Malloy spoke.
“I just tried to get the ball and a shot up,” Holiday said. “I saw him tip it and it came close to me so I just tried to get it and tried to make a 3, and Jalen just ran into my chest.”
Holiday made the first two free shots and intentionally missed the third to run out the clock.
Brunson was questioned three times about his thoughts on the foul, and each time he responded with the same four words.
“Great call,” he said. “Next question.”
Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau was asked about how the game ended.
“Tough way to lose a game,” he stated twice in a row.
He was then asked what he thought of the officiating, and he said, “Great.” However, when asked explicitly if he believed Brunson fouled Holiday, he evaded the topic.
“You look at it,” he remarked with a small shake of his head.
Dillon Brooks scored 23 points, Jabari Smith Jr. added 20, and Alperen Sengun had 18, helping the Rockets stop a four-game losing streak.
“It was good to see us close it out in the fourth period in a back-and-forth game,” Houston coach Ime Udoka said.
Holiday was pleased that they finished this one after dropping a couple of close games.
“This was huge,” he said. “We lost the final two; I believe we could have won but didn’t get it done down the stretch. So I’m delighted we could pull this one off.”
Brunson scored 27 points and Donte DiVincenzo added 23 as the Knicks suffered their third consecutive loss.
The Rockets led by three entering the fourth quarter before Holiday went on an 11-5 run to extend the lead to 85-76 with approximately nine minutes remaining. Holiday started the quarter with a slam before nailing a three-pointer. He then added a jump shot before passing to Smith for a dunk and completed his hot streak with a layup.
Brooks’ 3-pointer gave Houston an 11-point advantage, but the Knicks trimmed the lead to 91-89 with 5 ½ minutes left, with Bojan Bogdanovic scoring the last seven points.
With about 3 ½ minutes left, Brooks sank a 3 to give Houston a five-point lead. However, Josh Hart made one second after to bring the Knicks to within 98-96.
Brooks followed with another three-pointer, but this time Alec Burks hit one for New York, cutting the advantage to two with less than two minutes remaining.
Houston was missing Fred VanVleet, who missed his fourth consecutive game with a strained left adductor, and rookie Cam Whitmore, who was sidelined for the second time with a sprained right ankle.
The Rockets led by 14 at halftime, but the Knicks closed the gap to 61-59 with a 16-4 run with 7 ½ minutes remaining in the third quarter. Brunson scored the first four points during that time, and Hart added two three-pointers to help New York cut the gap.
