In terms of satisfaction, referees' admission of wrong call on Jalen Brunson is a flop
Jalen Brunson of the New York Knicks late during the fourth quarter against the Boston Celtics at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday. Credit: Jim McIsaac
ATLANTA — With a sellout crowd at Madison Square Garden and a national television audience watching two of the premier franchises in the NBA on Wednesday night, it was a fitting time for the league to set a tone with a new point of emphasis — cutting down on flopping.
So maybe the Knicks' Jalen Brunson shouldn’t have been surprised when he was called for a technical foul for flopping against the Celtics. But perhaps he was surprised when the league’s officials admitted a day later that the call was wrong.
Posted on the NBA referees official account on X was, “We missed the foot to foot contact which should have resulted in a personal foul and reviewed for flagrant. Had no foot to foot contact existed, this type of secondary and theatrical movement by Brunson would meet the criteria for a non-unsportsmanlike technical foul for flopping. It is possible to have a foul and a flop on the same play, but the foot to foot contact is what causes Brunson’s movement and no flop should have been called.”
Any satisfaction from the admission?
“No,” Brunson said after Friday morning's shootaround at State Farm Arena. “It is what it is.”
And the damage already was done. Rather than get three free throws for Jayson Tatum sliding under his foot as he attempted a three-point field goal, when the play continued on to the other end, Brunson was called for a technical, sending Tatum to the line. He added a point in a nail-biter of a game eventually won by the Celtics, 108-104.
“I just think everyone needs to be on the same page. That's all,” Brunson said. “I guess you've just gotta be aware of it . . . The play was over. I control what I can control.”
“All I know is Jalen got a tech before I did, so putting that on record,” Josh Hart said. “Whenever there’s a new rule, you’re always going to see a lot of them at the beginning of the year. And the league kind of sends a message early and then kind of gets back to feeling it out. It’s a feel-out process. Like I said, it’s new, new for us, new for the officials. Just as we’ve got to get used to it, the refs got to get used to it. So we’ll see how it is.”
The mea culpa from the officials didn’t completely absolve the Knicks, though. Donte DiVincenzo was hit with a $2,000 fine for flopping earlier in the game.
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
