BREAKING: NBA Denies Knicks' Protest of Loss to Rockets

Houston, we'll continue to have a problem.

The National Basketball Association officially denied the New York Knicks' protest of a Feb. 12 game against the Houston Rockets on Wednesday, officially sealing the team's fate in a 105-103 loss.

New York protested the game's result after Jalen Brunson was charged with a shooting foul in the final seconds of the tied interconference showdown. The game's crew chief, Ed Malloy, said in the aftermath that Brunson should not have been whistled, leading the Knicks to take things up with the Association office.

Brunson's foul sent shooter Aaron Holiday to the line, where he hit the winning free throws in a narrow triumph. In a statement penned by the NBA, further action was denied by the fact that the Knicks were unable to prove a legitimate misappropriation of league rules rather than a simple lapse in judgment.

"The Knicks protested the result of the game on the ground that a shooting foul was called incorrectly on the Knicks' Jalen Brunson for making contact with the Rockets' Aaron Holiday during a last-second shot attempt," the NBA statement said. "Under the standard for NBA game protests, New York was required to demonstrate that there was a misapplication of the official playing rules, as opposed to an error in judgment by game officials."

"Because the foul call at issue reflected an error in judgment, New York did not demonstrate a misapplication of the playing rules, and the extraordinary remedy of upholding a game protest was not warranted."

The Knicks' endgame was likely the enforcement of a five-minute overtime period that could've afforded them another opportunity at a win that could be well-missed when it comes to playoff seeding: as it stands, the Knicks sit fourth on the Eastern Conference playoff bracket, two games ahead of Orlando, the first team out of the six automatic spots. The loss to the Rockets is part of a recent New York tailspin, which has seen the decimated Knicks drop seven of their last 10 as they try to work through injuries to several regulars.

Ref That! Knicks-Rockets Official Admits Bad Call Against Brunson

No NBA protest has been recognized since the 2007-08 season when the Miami Heat successfully lobbied for the replay of the last 51-plus seconds after Shaquille O'Neal was erroneously ruled to have been charged with six fouls when he only had five. The protest was upheld despite O'Neal being traded to the Phoenix Suns before the replay.

The Knicks (35-24) return to action on Thursday night when they host the Golden State Warriors (7:30 p.m. ET, TNT).