DETROIT >> Before the Detroit Pistons’ first-round series against the New York Knicks, coach J.B. Bickerstaff emphasized that the margin for error during the postseason is very narrow.

On Sunday afternoon inside Little Caesars Arena, one major mistake led to the Pistons sustaining a 94-93 loss in Game 4.

Following a missed mid-range jumper by Cade Cunningham, Tim Hardaway Jr. (14 points) recorded an offensive rebound on a loose-ball attempt. With time running out late in the fourth quarter, Hardaway quickly attempted a 3-point field goal while being contacted by Josh Hart. However, the officials did not call a foul — a mistake crew chief David Guthrie admitted after the game.

“During live play, it was judged that Josh Hart made a legal defensive play,” Guthrie said. “After postgame review, we observed that Hart makes body contact that is more than marginal to Hardaway Jr., and a foul should have been called.”

With the loss, the Pistons now trail their best-of-seven series against the Knicks 3-1. The missed call on Hardaway marked a frustrating conclusion to an eventful second half for Detroit.

“Cade got his shot, he got to his spot, and he got to his shot, and had the shot that he liked and that we all like,” Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “I trust Cade to take that shot 100 times in a row.

“You go back and look at the film, the guy (Hart) leaves his feet. There’s contact on Tim Hardaway, his jump shot. I don’t know any other way around it. There’s contact on his jump shot. The guy leaves his feet, he’s at Timmy’s mercy, and I repeat, there’s contact on his jump shot.”

OG Anunoby converted a dunk that gave the Knicks a 16-point lead (48-32) at the 2:14 mark of the second quarter. With the energy dying inside the building, it seemed as if New York was poised to secure an easy victory. However, on Detroit’s next offensive possession, Tobias Harris scored on a contested reverse layup against Karl-Anthony Towns to draw an and-1 basket.

Known for his calm demeanor, Harris celebrated his bucket with great enthusiasm, as it sparked momentum that propelled Detroit in the second half. He finished with 18 points and eight rebounds.

Cunningham opened the second half with a midrange jumper, sparking the Pistons’ comeback in the third quarter. A few possessions later, he made a powerful one-handed dunk over Towns, which gave Detroit a 59-58 lead. He went on to score 12 of his 25 points during the period en route to his first playoff triple-double, adding 10 assists and 10 rebounds.

“It’s just what he’s been doing; he’s been that guy for us all year,” Bickerstaff said. “We knew we were going to have to rebound the ball, but he did a great job on the defensive boards. He’s got to carry us a lot on the offensive end of the floor. The burden is heavy on him, but I think he comes through for us over and over again.”

However, his most impactful contributions came on the defensive end, where he recorded four blocks. Three of his rejections came in the third period, where Detroit registered seven. The Pistons’ enhanced defense during the period caused the Knicks to miss 10 of their first 11 shots from the field. Detroit won the quarter 28-14.

The Pistons led by as many as 10 points early in the fourth quarter. However, Jalen Brunson, despite sustaining an ankle injury in the third quarter, tied the game with four minutes left in the period by making his fourth 3-point field goal. On consecutive offensive possessions, Dennis Schröder and Cunningham hit their jump shots, giving the Pistons a four-point lead (88-84), but they couldn’t make it stand.

Towns came up huge for the Knicks down the stretch with a pair of 3-pointers in the final 2:43. His fifth and final 3-pointer occurred with 47.0 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, giving the Knicks a one-point lead and the final made field goal of the game.

Towns finished with 27 points and nine rebounds, while Brunson added a game-high 32 points and 11 assists. He scored 14 points in the final period.

“They made some tough ones. There are situations where we didn’t close out strong enough, where we helped a little bit too much in positions where we didn’t have to,” Bickerstaff said. “But, again, there’s great offensive players making offensive plays down the stretch.”

With this loss, the Pistons extended their playoff home losing streak to nine games. Their last home victory in the postseason was in May 2008 during the Eastern Conference Finals against the Boston Celtics.

Despite a few timely shots in the second half, Malik Beasley had another bad performance. Beasley scored 13 points on 5-of-12 shooting from the field, 3-of-9 from behind the arc. He began the game missing his first five attempts from deep. He is now 12-of-39 on 3-point shooting for the series.

The Pistons dominated the Knicks on the glass, winning the rebounding battle 54-38. Jalen Duren notched a game-high 17 rebounds in 37 minutes.