The Miami Heat dropped a competitive Game 2 to the New York Knicks on Tuesday, evening the series at one game apiece.
Veteran referee Scott Foster was assigned the game, and he certainly left his mark. Foster and his crew made some questionable calls throughout the game, many of which went in New York’s favor.
Heat fans expressed frustration with the officiating throughout the game and made their feelings known on Twitter.
Unfortunately, many of the controversial calls came relatively late in the game.
For the Heat, arguably the most frustrating call of the game came with about three minutes remaining and Miami down by three. With the shot clock winding down, Miami’s Caleb Martin fired a desperation shot just to beat the timer.
The shot missed badly, and by the time it came down, the shot clock had expired. What’s crucial, however, is the fact that the shot seemingly grazed the rim, which would have resulted in a reset of the shot clock had the officiating crew seen it that way.
But the crew didn’t see it that way. Instead, the ruling was that the shot airballed, resulting in a shot clock violation.
To add salt to the wound, Miami’s Gabe Vincent had an easy shot under the basket after Martin’s miss and would have given the Heat their two easiest points of the night if the play hadn’t been blown dead.
Ultimately, the Knicks won the game by a final score of 111-105. It was a very winnable affair for the Heat, but in their undermanned state, they didn’t have quite enough to get the job done.
Fortunately for Miami, the first two games of the series have to be seen as a success overall. By winning Game 1 on the road, the Heat stole home-court advantage away from the Knicks and won’t lose it unless they drop a home game.
Game 3 of the series is set for Saturday, giving both teams some time to rest before things get going again. The Heat are going to have to lock in and forget about Game 2 in order to get back on track in Game 3.