The Lakers are furious after a missed call cost them a game against the Celtics.
The head referee in the Los Angeles Lakers 125-121 overtime loss to the Boston Celtics on Saturday admitted that there was a missed shooting foul by Jayson Tatum against LeBron James in the final seconds of regulation, leaving L.A. fuming over yet another loss blamed on officiating.
When James drove to the basket with 4.0 seconds remaining, the Lakers had a golden opportunity to defeat the league-leading Celtics. He made it all the way to the basket before being smacked on the arm by Tatum and missing the shot just before time expired.
James immediately turned to the referee stationed along the baseline, grabbing his arm to indicate the location of the contact. He bounced up and down and slapped the
"There was contact," crew chief Eric Lewis said after the game to a pool reporter. "We didn't see a foul during the game at the time. The play was missed by the crew."
The admission was the latest in what the Lakers see as a pattern of poor officiating in their games, recalling recent losses to Dallas, Philadelphia, and Sacramento when calls went against them.
"[Tatum] tripped him up. He tripped him up. Clearly, clearly, "Anthony Davis stated. "It's nonsense... This is unacceptable. And I guarantee nothing will happen to the referees. To be honest, we were duped tonight. It's a clear foul... To be honest, it's unacceptably bad. The officials were poor. They were terrible tonight."
James, who was sixth in the league in scoring at 30.2 points per game entering the night, averages 6.2 free throw attempts per game, the fewest of any of the league's top eight scorers.
"It's difficult," James said after scoring 41 points on 15-of-30 shooting. "I don't understand. I'm attaching the paint as much as any of the guys in this league who are shooting double-digit free throws per night, and I don't understand it. "I'm not sure what you're talking about."
Against the Celtics, James attempted six free throws, and Los Angeles shot 20 as a team. The Celtics almost doubled that, going 34-for-39. He claims the poor officiating has made it appear that his team is being targeted.
"Every day, I watch basketball."
Darvin Ham, the Lakers' coach, who is ordinarily reticent to criticize the officials, could not deny the impact the officials had on the outcome on Saturday.
"It's becoming increasingly difficult not to blame it on the officiating," Ham said. "The best player on the planet isn't getting a call. It's incredible."
Ham urged the officials to be more consistent, citing a play in which Jaylen Brown was awarded an and-1 free throw despite the officials calling a foul on Patrick Beverley on the play before James' last-second drive. He also stated that James' physicality and strength work against him.
"[He] plays a strong, physical brand of basketball, and just because he doesn't flop, fall, or scream when he shoots doesn't mean he's not a good player."
