The Detroit Pistons snapped their 15-game playoff losing streak last night in New York in another physical and competitive game.
As always, we have fans from both teams claiming they were robbed by the refs even though the fouls were nearly even in the game.
The Pistons did enjoy a decided free-throw edge of 34-19 but were actually called for two more fouls than the Knicks, something their complaining fans conveniently ignore.
Ausar Thompson fouled out of the game after some tough calls went against him and Jalen Duren nearly joined him.
For what it’s worth, I think the refs have been good in both games, as they have let the two teams play, and have given both their share of whistles.
It’s also promising that the refs aren’t falling for Jalen Brunson’s antics, which was huge in last night’s win for the Pistons.
Jalen Brunson hunting fouls instead of buckets against the Detroit Pistons
Knicks fans were crying all night about not getting calls, yet somehow Jalen Brunson shot 11 free throws in the game, one fewer than Cade Cunningham, who was “getting every call!”
I challenge anyone who thinks Cunningham didn’t deserve those calls to go back and watch them. Then go watch all of the foul calls Brunson got, and more importantly, the ones he didn’t get, and tell me which one of them is flopping.
I’ll wait.
Brunson flops on defense as well as offense, which you'll see on nearly every one of Cade's buckets. You'd think there was an invisible wall Brunson was running into the way his head snaps back.
Brunson is a supremely skilled player and getting foul calls is part of his game. But you don’t rack up 37 points on flops alone, so I think the accusations of foul baiting against him are a little overblown.
But there are definitely times when Brunson seeks the foul instead of the shot, and it happened several times down the stretch last night. Brunson got some calls, but he didn’t get them all, as the refs were not falling for his flailing and head tossing.
The thing about foul seeking is that if you don’t get the call, what you are left with is just a bad shot, and Brunson had his share of them last night, shots that might have fallen if he weren’t so busy trying to draw a foul.
Observers agreed, as Brunson got slated on social media last night and there are plenty of people who do not enjoy his style of basketball.
Brunson has become my least favorite watch in the league. It's a shame because with his skill level he should be one of my favorites, but the referee baiting is never ending. He does something on seemingly every possession on both ends. It's a level beyond even peak Harden.
— Nate Duncan (@NateDuncanNBA) April 22, 2025
Brunson is just flailing for contact right now. You have to try to score to get the call.
— Yaya Dubin (@JADubin5) April 22, 2025
The Pistons had a few flops of their own, most notably Dennis Schroder, who had an elite flop earlier in the game that should have made Brunson proud.
Schroder aside, the Pistons are not foul baiters, as they play ethical hoops behind Cade Cunningham, who shoots fewer free throws per game than any high-usage superstar in the league, including Brunson.
And if you watch Cade, he always tries to make the shot first. He doesn't leap into players who he baited off their feet (Brunson is great at that) or fall to the ground every time he gets touched even though he is often going against much larger and more physical defenders.
It’s a big rich for Knicks fans to be yapping about the refs when they have been the beneficiary of favorable whistles all season.
But refs aren’t as easily fooled in the playoffs, as we saw last night when Brunson hit the deck a few times and didn’t get the call when it was clear he was more interested in contact than trying to make the shot.
Can we stop acting like the Pistons were helped by the refs? They got called for more fouls than the Knicks and Brunson still shot 11 free throws. He was the recipient of a few favorable calls on Ausar Thompson, most notably on a play where Thompson beat him to the spot and Brunson just plowed into him, fell down and got a whistle, so even on a night when the whistle went against him a few times, Brunson still got most of the calls. Just watch some of this shameless foul baiting.
The refs aren’t going to call every minor bump in the playoffs, no matter how well Brunson sells them, and he was exposed a bit last night for flopping around on the big stage.