Getty Images LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Los Angeles Lakers lost to the Clippers 105-102 on Friday night, unable to come up with some big plays down the stretch.
But what didn’t help the Lakers cause were some lengthy reviews to close out the game — including a controversial possession call that didn’t go their way. The last 30 seconds of the game took 20 real-time minutes to finish, per Stat Muse.
The last 30 seconds of Lakers/Clippers took 20 real time minutes to finish.
The NBA needs to change something.
The call in question came when LeBron James tried to save a ball with around one minute remaining and the Lakers down 103-102. James’ foot was down out of bounds but it went uncalled and his pass was intercepted by Robert Covington, who was declared out of bounds by officials.
LeBron in or out of bounds?
The Clippers challenged the call and ended up winning not because Covington was inbounds, but because LeBron was out of bounds — a play that was never called on the floor.
Lakers Call Situation ‘Total BS’
The Lakers argued that James being out of bounds should not have been part of a review because it wasn’t called on the floor and not part of the play in question.
“I disagree strongly with the ruling,” coach Frank Vogel told reporters after the game. “I think it’s total BS. They called the play dead when Covington steps out of bounds. They try to tell me that, because it was close to that play, that LeBron was out of bounds, then it’s going to be Clippers ball. … It’s wrong. … It should have been our ball in that situation. Very disappointing.”
Vogel wasn’t the only member of the Lakers fuming about the situation. James — who went over to ESPN commentator Richard Jefferson during the game and pleaded his case — also had something to say about the officiating.
LeBron talking to Richard Jefferson after an overturned out of bounds call 😅
“That definitely impacted the moment,” James said after the game. “That rule has never been explained to me, and I know every rule in this game. I never knew that you could challenge a play that wasn’t called on the floor, and that’s essentially what happened.”
The Clippers ended up turning the ball over on an eight-second violation on their next possession but not after another lengthy review that made the final minute even choppier. The Lakers missed a pair of late shots and ultimately went home with the loss.
LeBron James Frustrated With Lakers’ Injury Misfortune
The loss dropped the Lakers to 27-32 and they lost a game in the standings to the Clippers, who are one slot above them in the No. 8 seed. There’s a lot that hasn’t gone right for the Lakers but the premier among the issues has been the ineffective — and expensive — partnership between James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook.
“I do wish that we were just playing better basketball and between me, AD and Russ on the floor at the same time,” James said. “That’s the biggest disappointment so far, that us three, because we all wanted to see this work. We just haven’t been on the floor.”
Westbrook has remained healthy this season but both James and Davis have missed significant chunks of time, minimizing the time they’ve been able to build consistent chemistry. Davis is dealing with a right mid-foot sprain and is expected to be out another four to five weeks, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.