Bad Ref Calls Haunt Knicks as they Lose at Buzzer. Oklahoma City 103 NY 100

March 5, 2026 LouV 2025-26 0
OG Anunoby had 16 pts, 3 steals, and 2 blocks -- while defending 7'4 Chet Holmgren all night. His 3 at buzzer that would have tied game, rimmed out. Photo courtesy NY Knicks.

Jalen Brunson‘s 3 with 4 seconds left rimmed out but OG Anunoby grabbed the offensive rebound, stepped back behind the 3-pt line, and fired up the game-tying shot — which also rimmed out as the buzzer sounded sending NY to a 103-100 loss to Oklahoma City on a Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden.

The last-second loss magnified several bad calls by the refs the Knicks received on the evening — most notably in the 1st quarter, when Shai-Gilgeous Alexander ran over Jalen Brunson who was clearly stationary, but the refs let the play go, seemingly so that Shai would not pick up his 3rd foul.

That call had Knick coach Mike Brown screaming at the refs — something rare for him — drawing a technical, and beyond pissed off even after the game. There were 3 other bad calls in the final 6 minutes of the game that hurt NY:

  • Karl-Anthony Towns was getting hammered inside in a physical game, with no calls, but then after grabbing an offensive rebound and getting fouled trying to put it back in with 6:33 left — he was called for a ticky-tack foul himself — giving Oklahoma the ball instead of giving Towns 2 free throws.
  • With 5:53 left, OG scored on a drive-and-1 to make it a 94-91 game, Oklahoma City — but Thunder coach Mark Daigneault challenged the call and won — the refs taking the OG bucket away and granting Oklahoma the ball.
  • With  4:06 left, the ball went out of bounds off Oklahoma’s Luke Dort’s fingers, as he and Towns reached for it — but again the Thunder challenged the call — and the replay showed the ball going off Dort’s fingers — but the refs looked at the overall play and called Towns for a slight push off. And so instead of Knick ball, Dort got and made 2 free throws making it 96-91 Okla. Again, in a game where Towns was being hammered down low all night.

KAT led NY with 17 pts on 7-8 shooting and 17 rebounds. Brunson had 16 pts on 5-18 shooting (2-5 from 3), OG had 16 pts on 6-17 shooting (4-13 from 3), Bridges had 15 pts on 6-17 shooting (1-5 from 3), Hart had 10 pts and 12 rebounds, Landry Shamet had 14 pts on 5-9 shooting (0-3 from 3), and Mohamed Diawara had 9 pts on 3-4 shooting (all from 3). Mitchell Robinson had the night off as the Knicks played the night before (beating Toronto).

Chet Holmgren led Okla with 28 pts on 11-19 shooting (6-11 from 3), Shai had 26 pts on 9-16 shooting (1-1 from 3, 7-7 in free throws), and Luke Dort had 16 pts on 4-9 shooting. NY limited Isaiah Joe to 4 pts on 0-5 shooting, and Jaylin Williams to 8 pts on 2-6 shooting. Isaiah Hartenstein had 0 pts on 0 shots in 17 minutes.

“Good basketball game,” said coach Mike Brown afterwards. “I thought our guys, they could have folded at any time. We were down double digits. I liked our competitive spirit.”

“SGA is a tough cover — he does a great job of convincing the referees — probably better than anyone in the league, that he’s getting hit,” continued Brown. On his technical, Brown said: “One of the things that I wanted to get across to the guys is, we’re good enough to win despite whatever the officials are calling out on the floor. We need to have that mentality.”

“SGA had 2 fouls, and Jalen was there — and he ran him over,” continued Brown. “Just like the call that they made on OG (in the 4th). I don’t understand why that was a no call, but that should have been his 3rd, the bucket should’nt have counted, and we should have gone the other way with the basketball. So to see that, where Jalen is standing there and putting his body on the line, and our guys are fighting their asses off trying to win the ballgame, it didn’t sit well with me obviously.”

NY falls to 40-23; Oklahoma improves 49-15.

1. Holmgren 3’s Gain Okla a 20-10 Lead, But Diawara 3’s Get NY Right Back

Oklahoma City jumped out to a 20-10 lead, as the 7’4 Chet Holmgren was burning up the nets from 3 and there was nothing NY could do about it. He hit four (4) 3-pointers, while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was hitting mid-range jumpers.

But Mohamed Diawara rose to the occasion — hitting back-to-back 3’s to pull NY back within 20-16. Landry Shamet followed with a pullup to make it 20-18 Oklahoma. Game on.

2. Shai Picks Up 3rd Foul with 2:00 Left in 1st — Not

And then Jalen Brunson took a clear charge by Shai-Gilgeous Alexander and it was Knick ball.

Not.

The refs let Shai’s score count with no call. Knick coach Mike Brown was FUMING on the side lines and let out a blistering argument against the refs — and was t’d up. Shai hit the free throw and Oklahoma was up 23-18.

Shai scored again next time down and Okla was up 25-18.

But the Knicks were pissed, and did not relent. They kept coming. Brunson — hounded physically by Alex Caruso — hit a floater, then next time down missed a floater but Ariel Hukporti (playing for Mitchell Robinson) grabbed an offensive rebound and fed OG Anunoby for a 3. NY was within 25-23 after 1 quarter.

3. Dort 3’s Help Put Okla Up 13 in 2nd

And then Mo Diawara hit another 3 leading off the 2nd quarter and NY was up — 26-25.

The dogfight was on.

  • Okla pushed back — a Holmgren tip-in, a Jaylin Williams 3, and an Aaron Wiggins dunk off a Holmgren pass had them back up 35-28.
  • KAT got buckets inside for NY — but consecutive Luke Dort 3’s midway thru the period, followed by a Shai step-back put Okla up by 12 at 44-31.
  • NY pushed back with a 7-0 run on buckets by Josh Hart, KAT, and Bridges (and a free throw by Jose Alvarado) to pull within 6.
  • But again Holmgren hit back-to-back 3’s to put Oklahoma up by 12.
  • A Josh Hart jumper at the buzzer pulled NY back within 10 at the half.

4. Okla Goes Up by 15 in 3rd — But NY Storms Back for 80-77 Lead

Oklahoma ran the lead up to 15 early in the 3rd on a jumper by Cason Williams and yet another 3 by Luke Dort.

But NY pushed back — steadily but surely — on buckets by Landry Shamet especially — a jumper and a drive-and-1.

  • The Knicks intensified their Defense; OG was all over Holmgren at the 3-pt line, causing him to miss. NY stifled Shai and Dort — and KAT and Shamet continued to get buckets for NY — starting a 32-14 NY run.
  • A Shamet drive pulled NY within 72-69 with 3:35 left in the quarter.
  • A Brunson 3 tied the game at 72-72.

  • Jaylin Williams hit a 3 to put Okla up; but Brunson came right back with a 3 to tie it 75-75.

  • Williams hit free throws; OG hit a deuce to re-tie the game; and Mikal Bridges hit a corner 3 with 1.7 seconds left to give NY an 80-77 lead heading into the 4th.

5. Dogfight in 4th — Ref Calls Kill NY

And then came the 4th.

Alex Caruso was out of the game — leaving early in the 3rd with a leg sprain. Josh Hart was also to the lockerroom and back — his back taped up after hitting the floor in the 3rd.

Brunson was sporting a black eye.

It was a tough, physical game.

  • Holmgren and Shai got buckets early in the period to put Okla slightly on top, and then Aaron Wiggins hit a 3 to make it 91-86 Oklahoma with 7:24 left.

And then came the ref calls that Killed NY:

  • The foul on KAT after he grabbed an offensive rebound and was putting it back in with 6:33 left — it should have made it a 91-88 game, instead Dort got 2 free throws, making 1 and it was 92-86 Okla.

OG said F you and hit a 3 to make it 92-89.

  • Then the bucket-and-1 by OG with 5:53 left that would have made it a 94-92 game if he hit the free throw — instead Okla challenged, won the challenge and OG’s bucket was taken away. It was still an 94-89 game.

OG said F you and dunked off a Brunson assist next time down to make it 94-91.

  • And then finally the ball off Dort’s fingertips as he and KAT reached for the rebound with 4:06 left — Okla challenging again — and the refs ruling the ball was off Dort — but KAT had fouled him just before — and Dort making 2 free throws. Instead of 94-91 and NY with the ball, it was Okla 96-91.

Hart, Brunson, and Knick D Would Not Quit

The Knicks were down 100-92 with 2 minutes left — but again fought back.

  • Hart got a bucket inside off a Brunson pass.
  • Hart got free throws on a drive.
  • Shai hit a 3, but
  • Hart again got a bucket inside off a Brunson assist
  • Then Brunson hit a 15-foot turnaround with 40 seconds left and it was a 103-100 game.
  • NY defended — and Holmgren missed a shot inside. Hart grabbed the tough rebound and NY had a chance with 15 second left.

Okla defended well, and NY called timeout with 6 seconds left to set up the final play.

But Brunson missed a corner 3, and OG grabbed the offensive rebound, stepped back, and missed a 3 at the buzzer for the old ballgame.

The Boxscore

https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore/_/gameId/401810748

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