Another night in the NBA, another game that is ruined because of the referees. The Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics added another chapter to their rivalry on Saturday night with another overtime thriller that the Celtics won 125-121. However, the only thing anyone will remember from the game is the missed foul call on the last play of regulation.
With the clock winding down, LeBron James drove to the rim to attempt a layup which would have won the game. As he was going up to attempt the shot, Jayson Tatum fouled him, slapping his arm.
That led to James missing the shot as the ball came out of his hand, but the only whistle that was blown was the one indicating the clock expired. There was no foul and James went ballistic as a result.
Patrick Beverley followed that up by bringing a camera that caught the play to the referee on the court, which led to him receiving a technical foul. “I don’t see it happening to nobody else,” James said. “It’s just weird.”
It was something that drew some strong reactions from Anthony Davis and head coach Darvin Ham as well. “We got cheated tonight, honestly. … It’s unacceptable,” Davis said after the game. “I don’t want to see another two-minute report,” Ham said. “They can save that. It does no one any good.”
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In an unprecedented move, the official NBA Referees Twitter page issued a response to the miss call. “Like everyone else, referees make mistakes. We made one at the end of last night’s game and that is gut-wrenching for us. This play will weigh heavily and cause sleepless nights as we strive to be the best referees we can be.”
What was an excellent game has been ruined by that non-call that effectively decided the outcome. There were other calls and non-calls throughout the evening that were also egregiously poor in what was a rough game for the crew from the opening tip. The non-call at the end of regulation was just the icing on the cake of a brutal job done by that trio of referees.
NBA NEWS: LeBron James & Los Angeles Lakers Updates
James had another dominant performance, scoring 41 points with nine rebounds and eight assists. Davis, Russell Westbrook and Lonnie Walker IV all scored in double-figures off the bench to help the Lakers keep pace before ultimately falling in overtime.
