The Los Angeles Lakers played host to Pacific Division rivals, the Golden State Warriors, in a game billed as LeBron James versus Stephen Curry. The Warriors came out on top 128-121, snapping out from their last loss to the Dallas Mavericks and thus condemning the Lakers to their second consecutive defeat.
LeBron James led the player statistics chart with a season-tie high of 40 points, eight rebounds, and nine assists, which wasn’t enough as he had teammate Anthony Davis out early with an eye injury. Steph Curry, a fellow veteran of the Dubs, scored 31 points, six rebounds, and five assists.
Furthermore, a game as epic as the Lakers-Warriors is never always with its fair share of twists and drama. First, the game witnessed LBJ’s three-point shot, which would have cut the Warriors’ lead to four points, get chalked off. The review to challenge the shot led to a series of future malfunctions. While that review was done, a dropball followed, which led to another lengthy review to determine veteran guard Draymond Green’s act.
With the Dubs leading 124-117, the shot clock began to malfunction, with less than 1:30 minutes remaining. And with the players and coaching staff on both sides appearing to lose their patience, James was overheard talking to the referee.
I got a flight to catch!
James was heard saying to the referee
Earlier on, he was overheard saying, “I’m too old for this sh*t,” while smiling to calm the tension down, possibly. Although issues like this are rare in the NBA, as one can never truly rely on technology, it was quite a weird ending to a thriller game at the Crypto.com Arena.
NBA speaks on controversial call during Lakers-Warriors thriller
The LA Lakers against the Warriors played out a thriller, and the game was filled with lots of twists and drama. The game had a bizarre ending that coincided with a malfunctioning shot clock. The controversy was from the check for LeBron James’ late fourth-quarter three-pointer shot that he made.
LeBron James and Steph Curry (via Open Source/X)Crew Chief David Guthrie later on explained the referee’s ruling in a Pool Report.
James’ left foot is out of bounds as he begins to shoot. Yes, it is reviewable at that time. The rule is Rule 13, Section II(f)(3): Whether the shooter committed a boundary line violation, the replay center official will only look at the position of the player’s feet at the moment they touch the floor immediately prior to the release of the shot. This can be applied during other replay triggers as well.
David Guthrie
He also talked about how the shot clock malfunctioned during live play at that time, and that is not a reviewable matter. The Lakers would like to hope to put this game behind them quickly when they face the Atlanta Hawks next.
