The Knicks were Robbed

With the Knicks up one and just over 20 seconds to go, Carmelo Anthony was called for a bullshit offensive foul. Paul Pierce was draped all over him as if Pierce was hoping for a piggyback ride. Anthony used a swim move to relieve himself of Pierce. Anthony's move was a foul, but Pierce fouled him first. The ref called the response instead of the initial action.

The bad call hurt the Knicks badly. Ray Allen hit a three. The Knicks had no timeouts and with Chauncey Billups out with an injury, the offense was disorganized. Anthony thre up a contested shot from long range that missed.

An early for three by Anthony rimmed out. Amar'e missed two late free throws. I knew both would come back to haunt the Knicks. But Amar'e made two incredible plays with fewer than three minutes remaining in the game. One was a spinning whirling lay up. The other was a dunk over Jermaine O'Neal that I didn't think went in at first.

The Knicks deserved to win this game. But one referee decided otherwise. It's unfortunate.