Source: Maddie Meyer / Getty / LeBron James
The NBA is celebrating its first-ever rivalry week, putting teams with history,
whether the players agree or not, up against each other. The Lakers and Celtics embody what it means to have a rivalry and have faced off in the NBA Finals numerous times and are neck and neck when it comes to how many chips they have.
So, it should come as no surprise that rivalry week was capped off with a game that came down to the wire with the ball in the hands of the best player in the world, and he was subsequently left thinking the refs may have an agenda.
Throughout the season, the Los Angles Lakers, for whatever reason, can’t seem to get any foul calls. The Lakers are third in the NBA in restricted area field goal attempts but are 19th in clutch free throw attempts per minute.
It’s pretty baffling that a team who scores so much in the paint can’t get to the free-throw line or get late-game foul calls. That continued to be the case on Saturday night in TD Garden for the Lakers.
The referees put their stamp on this game when Jaylen Brown scored off an Al Horford miss that cut the Lakers’ lead to one. What made that play interesting is the refs blew the whistle egregiously late, and Brown went to the line and tied the game up.
Out of a timeout, the Lakers drew up a play for LeBron James to drive to the basket. He does just that and gets hit on the arm by Jayson Tatum, affecting the shot’s outcome.
The Fallout From The No Call
LeBron James is legendary for his theatrics, but this time he was well in his right to throw one. After the blown call, James put on a tantrum for the ages, and understandably so. He should have gone to the free-throw line and possibly won the game for his Lakers, who are desperate for signature wins.
Bron’s teammate, Patrick Beverley, came through with an epic reaction to the no-call. He grabbed a camera from a photographer and showed a ref earning him a technical foul that set the stage for the overtime period.
The Lakers were mentally out of the game, which was evident by some late-game overtime mistakes.
Following the game, a defeated LeBron James said to the press, “I don’t get it. I’m attacking the paint just as much as any of the other guys in this league that are shooting double-digit free throws per night. I don’t get it. I don’t understand.”
Anthony Davis didn’t bite his tongue, saying, “It’s bullsh*t. It’s unacceptable. … We got cheated tonight.”
Welp.
We don’t need an NBA officiating the last two-minute report to see the jig. You can see more reactions to the no-call in the gallery below.
Photo: Maddie Meyer / Getty
