Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James found it weird that his 3-pointer that would have cut the Golden State Warriors lead to just four with 1:50 left was overruled.
“I’ve never seen that be called before like that in that particular time,” James told reporters. “That was kinda weird.”
Crew chief David Guthrie explained why the shot was disallowed in the pool report.
“James’ left foot is out of bounds as he begins to shoot,” Guthrie said in the pool report. “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.”
But James disagreed with the game official’s explanation.
“I didn’t believe I stepped in the line,” James told reporters. “Obviously, I knew how much space I had over there and when I shoot, I shoot on my tippy toe. So it’s kind of hard for me to have a heel down. Probably after I shoot, I was gonna land. But it is what it is.”
The overruled 3-pointer and the several game stoppage brought by malfunctioning shot clock at Crypto.com Arena halted the Lakers momentum as the Warriors held on to a 128-121 victory on Saturday, March 16.
The loss allowed the Warriors to catch them at ninth place in the Western Conference with only 14 games left in their regular-season schedule.
LeBron James’ Costly Turnover
When the game finally resumed after the 20-minute delay, instead of chasing just a four-point lead, the Lakers stared at a seven-point deficit.
With their rhythm stalled, James turned the ball over.
Warriors superstar Stephen Curry picked his pockets leading to a Jonathan Kuminga dunk that increased the Warriors’ lead to 126-117.
“It was just stay loose as much as we could,” James told reporters. “It was a lengthy pause of the game and we had a play, a set that was called, and whenever the game was resumed we tried to execute that. Unfortunately, I turned the ball over.”
Anthony Davis’ Absence Impacts Lakers Loss
The costly turnover flushed James 40-point effort as he tried to carry the Lakers on his back after Anthony Davis left late in the first quarter with a contused eye.
“When you’ve been preparing for a couple of days and you lose a key component to your team in one quarter, we tried to pick it up, but obviously, there some things we can’t do without AD,” James told reporters about Davis leaving the game early.
Warriors rookie Trayce Jackson-Davis inadvertently poked Davis’ eye.
Without Davis, the Lakers became vulnerable inside the paint.
The Warriors took full advantage. They outrebounded the Lakers 45-39 and held an 8-point edge in points in the paint (62-54).
Davis wound up with 8 points, 4 rebounds 2 assists and 1 block in nearly no-relief job in the opening quarter. He exited the game with only three seconds left in the first quarter and the Lakers holding a 36-30 lead.
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LeBron James Reacts to Refs Overruling His Crucial 3-Pointer in Lakers Loss