HOUSTON — Jalen Brunson went from the hero to the losing end of a controversial call that buried the Knicks.
Seconds after hitting a clutch and-1 to tie Monday’s contest at the Toyota Center, Brunson was whistled for a foul on a prayer 3-point attempt from Houston’s Aaron Holiday with 0.3 seconds left in New York’s 105-103 loss to the Rockets.
Replays showed it was a bad call that gave the Rockets three foul shots in a tie game.
Holiday buried two and the Rockets stole one.
The Knicks (33-21) mounted a dramatic comeback to reach that point in the game, getting the timely stepback from Brunson over Dillon Brooks and strong defense from Precious Achiuwa.
But after struggling offensively all evening, the Knicks had no margin for error or mistakes from the officials.
They’ve now dropped three straight ahead of a Valentine’s Day matchup in Orlando, which is followed by a much-needed All-Star break.