The Los Angeles Lakers came up just short on Monday night against the Miami Heat. Despite coming in shorthanded and then losing both Anthony Davis and D’Angelo Russell in the middle of the game, LeBron James led a near comeback in which the Lakers had multiple opportunities to come out on top but just couldn’t convert.
LeBron finished the game with 30 points, four rebounds, three assists and three blocks and was the catalyst for the Lakers nearly coming back from an 11-point fourth quarter deficit. Afterward, James credited the Lakers for staying focused throughout the contest and lamented some things out of their control for hurting them in the fourth quarter, via Spectrum SportsNet:
“Just trying to keep the main thing, the main thing still. Keep defending, keep rebounding, keep playing the right way, we gave ourselves a chance. Some things that we couldn’t control, controlled the game a little bit, in the fourth quarter. That’s unfortunate, but kudos to Miami they played some really good ball tonight. We were able to match the intensity and we played some good ball as well, but they were able to get the one-point win.”
While he didn’t outright say it, James was pretty clearly talking about the officiating and some questionable calls that occurred. The Lakers superstar mentioned a couple different plays where the refs missed calls while noting that it’s been an issue all season long:
“I don’t know. The explanations of what they’re telling me are not consistent with what’s actually happening on the floor. When I went for the dunk attempt against Thomas Bryant he clearly like, arm straight across my face. I asked them the explanation and one of the refs said he was straight up, hands straight in the air. Two of the other refs said they was blocked, they didn’t see it. One of my transition plays, I was going in transition, I got fouled, nobody saw it.
“I just, I don’t know. I’m going over respectfully and telling them what’s going on in the play and I consistently go to the line 3 or 4 times a game, sometimes not even at all which is weird. Just gotta keep driving, keep putting pressure on the rim and see if it turns, but we got some tough break calls tonight for sure. And not in our favor tonight.”
There have certainly seemed to be many times where LeBron has taken clear contact when going to the basket and yet no foul is being called and the same can be said for other Lakers as well, but it seems most prevalent with James.
LeBron said prior that things out of the Lakers control hurt them in the fourth quarter and when asked to clarify, he did just that:
“Well our coach got T’d up, that’s a point. D-Lo got T’d twice, those are two more points. I got called for a delay of game, which resulted in a T, where I fouled Jimmy Butler and I rolled the ball to the sideline where the ball is being taken out. The ref told me I threw the ball to the sideline when I actually just rolled it to the sideline and coach was right there and actually just held it there with his foot, so that resulted in another free throw and we lost by one. So those are things we can’t control.”
In a one-point game, every little thing matters and those points the Lakers lost were a difference. There were absolutely things the Lakers were in control of, such as turnovers and rebounding, that hurt them as well, but adding a whistle that doesn’t seem to be going your way just makes the game that much tougher.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra praises Lakers’ LeBron James for his work ethic
LeBron James and the Lakers were unable to get a win against his former team, but prior to the game Heat coach Erik Spoelstra still had nothing but praise for LeBron and what he is doing this season.
Spoelstra noted that James could probably put in less work and most wouldn’t even notice a drop in his performance, but credited his work ethic for allowing the Lakers star to redefine ‘human performance at that age’.
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