The Los Angeles Lakers dropped a close contest to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night, but of course it did not come without controversy involving LeBron James.
James was celebrating him 39th birthday although it did not end up being a good one thanks to what he believed was a missed call.
With the Lakers trailing by three points in the final seconds after making a comeback to make it close, James rose up and hit what he believed was the game-tying 3-pointer. Unfortunately though, the shot was ruled a 2-pointer and the call stood after it was reviewed by the officials.
LeBron was immediately upset as a still shot was still on the monitor at the scorer’s table. He pointed out to the officials that his foot appeared to be behind the line, but it was to no avail and the Lakers would end up suffering the loss.
As usual, the NBA released it’s Last Two-Minute Report the following day and they stuck by their call that it was a 2-pointer, via Dave McMenamin of ESPN:
The NBA’s Last Two Minute Report backs up last night’s determination that LeBron James’ suit with 2.3 seconds left was a 2 and not a 3 pic.twitter.com/vhHqzUhGVY
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) December 31, 2023
There were two calls in the Last Two Minute Report that should have gone against MIN and were missed, per the NBA pic.twitter.com/n0WEH75yij
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) December 31, 2023
There were a number of different screenshots going around and it was an extremely close play, so it is not surprising to see the NBA isn’t changing their mind. The result of the game was already decided, so even if they came out and said it was a triple, that would change nothing at this point.
They did admit to two other wrong calls that disadvantaged the Lakers in the final two minutes, but again, there’s nothing that can be done about it now.
James was understandably upset after the game, but he still had a solid overall performance in the loss, finishing with 26 points, three rebounds, six assists, three steals and one block on his 39th birthday.
LeBron James played through illness in Lakers loss to Timberwolves
James was actually listed as questionable and a game-time decision ahead of the loss to the Timberwolves due to a non-COVID illness.
He was able to tough it out and play, but it remains to be seen if he will be able to do the same on Sunday when the Lakers close out 2023 against the New Orleans Pelicans in the second game of a back-to-back on the road.
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