The New York Knicks were exasperated by the bizarre finish to their Game 3 win over the Detroit Pistons, with Karl-Anthony Towns saying the officiating was unprecedented.

Towns scored 31 points and Jalen Brunson added 30 as the Knicks held on for a 118-116 win at Little Caesars Arena on Thursday, taking a 2-1 lead in the series.

Despite Brunson being fouled with 0.5 seconds remaining, the Knicks were forced to survive a nervy ending.

Brunson made the first of his two free throws to push New York's advantage to two points, but on the advice of head coach Tom Thibodeau, he intentionally missed the second, knowing there was not enough time on the clock for Detroit to recover the rebound and score at the other end.

However, an error from the timekeeper saw the clock start as the free throw was taken, meaning the buzzer sounded before anybody touched the ball.

The officials then said Detroit had imminent possession and awarded them the ball with half a second left, meaning they had one last chance to win the game.

While Jalen Duren overcooked his pass towards Cade Cunningham to ensure the Knicks survived, Towns could not believe the decision.

"I ain't going to lie to you; shoutout to the scorer's table, man. Giving your team another chance like that is fire," Towns joked after the game.

"I got to give them a lot of respect for that. I've never seen that in 10 years of basketball."

.@karltowns is always thinking green light  pic.twitter.com/AgQd0Mt67q

— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) April 25, 2025

Knicks wing Josh Hart went a step further, suggesting the timekeeper intentionally committed the error to favour the hosts. 

"That's not a coincidence," he said. "When it's an inexcusable mistake like that, you should just let [Brunson] go again. 

"I feel like they for sure heard Thibs [telling Brunson] to miss it. They were right next to him. You know what that is, bro."

The Pistons were also frustrated with the way the officials handled the game, claiming they missed a clear backcourt violation by Brunson with five seconds remaining.

With Detroit three points behind when that incident took place, coach J.B. Bickerstaff felt the missed call was a crucial moment.

"He catches the ball in the frontcourt, recognises that he's getting ready to go into the backcourt, then drops the ball," Bickerstaff said of Brunson. 

"There are some things procedurally that I have questions about, and I'd be interested to hear some answers."

The teams will reconvene for Game 4 on Sunday, with Detroit at home again.