The Los Angeles Lakers came up just short in a hard-fought two-point loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night, which included a controversial call that had a significant impact. Following a defensive stop, LeBron James pulled up in transition for what would have been a game-tying 3-pointer with just 2.1 seconds remaining.
But the officials ruled that James’ toe was on the line, but a review of the was immediately initiated. Replays seemed to show that James’ foot was just behind the line, but officials did not overturn the call.
Even James himself tried use the monitor as part of his plea to the officials, but the result was still a two-point basket and ultimately a loss for L.A. Afterwards, James was understandably upset at the ruling, via Spectrum SportsNet:
“It’s obviously a 3. My foot was behind the line. You could see the space between the front of my foot and the 3-point line. You could clearly see the wood on the floor, there’ a space between my foot and the 3-point line. Stevie Wonder could see that, champ… I didn’t talk to Tony Brothers, I talked to the other ref and they said it was out of their hands. The Secaucus or whatever, replay center, someone over there was eating a ham sandwich or somebody they made the call.”
While it was an extremely close play, LeBron was not wrong in that the wood of the court was visible in between his toe and the line when he rose up, which should have made it a 3-pointer. Official Tony Brothers however, explained their stance that evidence was not conclusive.
“The play was ruled a two-point field goal on the floor during live play,” Brothers said after the game. “After video review, there wasn’t clear and conclusive evidence to overturn it from a two to a three, and that’s why it stood as a two-point field goal.”
Considering the still shots that were available, being ruled as inconclusive evidence didn’t sit well with James and the Lakers. James went on to question the need for a replay center if the calls won’t be made right in the end:
“It’s super frustrating in the sense or what the hell we got replay for? What do we have replay for if even the replay gets it wrong? Who’s a part of the replay center? We got robots in there making Teslas? Whats going on? If you don’t see that, that was clear. That was clear. Even if the shot is released and my foot is on the line afterwards, it doesn’t matter. Once the shot is out of my hand, it doesn’t matter where my foot lands.
“From where I shot the ball, it was clear, everyone could see it. It doesn’t make sense. And from there it’s a tie game. We’re fighting, trying to compete with the No. 1 team in the West right now so for us, it was frustrating.”
LeBron’s frustration would even carry on to social media as he made a post on Instagram after the game as well:
It was a frustrating night for the Lakers with the officials overall as many foul calls with clear contact were not made in their favor. In a game against the team with the best record in the Western Conference, the Lakers did not have the officials on their side.
While that argument is made by many a losing team throughout the NBA, James and the Lakers have a legitimate stance that the game was taken away from them.
Darvin Ham: Lakers ‘have to live’ with call on LeBron James’ 3-pointer
Lakers head coach Darvin Ham also spoke about the controversial call, making it clear that he felt it was evident James shot a 3-pointer.
However, despite what he felt what should have been an obvious call, Ham said the Lakers ultimately had to accept it, as there is nothing that can be done to change it at this point.
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