LeBron James celebrated his 39th birthday by suiting up against the Minnesota Timberwolves. However, despite a great start to his joyous day, the ending wasn’t all too great, with the referees spoiling the remainder of his night. During the dying seconds of the bout, what would have been LeBron’s game-tying three-pointer was ruled as a long-distance two-pointer, resulting in the Los Angeles Lakers suffering a tough 106-108 loss.
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The Los Angeles Lakers-Minnesota Timberwolves clash went down to the line. Trailing by 3 points, with the final few seconds remaining on the game clock, LeBron James made the wise decision of attempting a three-pointer on the fastbreak. Despite Mike Conley’s contest, James went on to knock down the shot.
Every Lakers fan was certain that the game was tied and overtime was on the cards. However, the officials had other plans. Instead of awarding the three points, the referees ruled the shot as a two-pointer.
The call stood even after the officials went to the monitors to take another look at the play. Reacting to the news, LeBron James and the remainder of the Lakers squad were livid. ‘The King’ and Anthony Davis, in particular, were in disbelief.
The 6ft 9” superstar also gave his two cents on the controversial call. As soon as the duel concluded, taking to Instagram, Bron mocked the referees. Posting a photo, in which his feet don’t look to be touching the line, LBJ sarcastically acknowledged his “birthday gift”.
“Sooooooooooooooo!!!!! WTF. Helluva Happy Bday gift to me. *face-palm emoji*”
Even NBA Twitter shared its opinions on the matter. Fans of the four-time MVP defended his play with their life. One of the users even recollected the controversial Boston Celtics-Los Angeles Lakers contest from last season, stating that Bron was getting “screwed over” by the referees.
The user is not entirely accurate. This clash between the Celtics-Lakers, that has been referred to, took place on 28th January. It is not “exactly 1 year apart”. While that game did witness some bad judgment in the final few minutes, the referees can’t blamed quite as much tonight. After all, James’s toes were close enough to the line that both parties had just as much of a case as each other. The call was one of those things that could have gone either way. Unfortunately for the Lakers, it just happened to go against them.
The referees may not have robbed LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers
Yes, at first, the shot does look to be a three-pointer. However, once closely inspected, the referees seem to have done a great job by sticking to their decision. The photo that LeBron James posted on his Instagram was from a few milliseconds before he put his entire weight down, which seems to have led him to touch the three-point line.
A more accurate slow-motion replay posted by Rob Perez makes it much clearer that LeBron’s toes did indeed touch the line. Hence, awarding a two-pointer does seem to be the right decision.
Skip Bayless also decided to jump in on the debate. Considering that he is the biggest LBJ detractor, one can safely assume that Bayless wouldn’t be attacking the referees. However, the UNDISPUTED analyst managed to keep his hate aside and provide a logical justification as to why the referees were not wrong.
Of course, this decision is not going to sit right with Lakers Nation. However, it just seems to be a tough break, and the referees did not actually “rob” the California side.
