Tonight’s hard-fought battle between the Houston Rockets and New York Knicks was ultimately decided by a shaky whistle.
Shaky might be a generous description of the call referee Jacyn Goble made on Knicks star Jalen Brunson with less than a second remaining in regulation Monday night.
Moments after Brunson tied the game at 103 on a stepback jumper, Goble somehow called the 2023-24 All-Star for a foul on a last-second desperation heave by Aaron Holiday.
In the clips below, you can see it appears there is *some* contact between Brunson and Holiday, but not nearly enough to affect a shot that had virtually no shot of going in anyway.
Jalen Brunson fouls Aaron Holiday on a last-second heave. Insane. pic.twitter.com/nNVErkSoE0
— Jackson Gatlin (@JTGatlin) February 13, 2024
Jalen Brunson was called for a foul on this play 👀
Rockets win off free throws 😳 pic.twitter.com/Pn7hZR43lU
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 13, 2024
Holiday went on to make his first two free throw attempts before intentionally missing the third and the Rockets escaped with a 105-103 victory.
Goble’s call wiped out a spirited late rally by a shorthanded Knicks squad, which was led by Brunson’s 27 points. Donte DiVincenzo added 23, while Josh Hart chipped in 17.
Precious Achiuwa scored eight points and grabbed 17 rebounds for the Knicks. Meanwhile, Dillon Brooks (23 points) and Jabari Smith (20 points) led the way for Houston.
It should be interesting to see the postgame fallout from this controversial ending.