“I don’t understand what’s going on in the replay center, to be honest,” LeBron James said.
In the immediate aftermath of the Lakers’ heartbreaking loss to the Denver Nuggets, James and his team voiced their displeasure with the officiating. Los Angeles led Denver by 20 points in the second half, but ultimately saw its lead disappear and fell into a 2-0 hole when Jamal Murray hit a shot at the buzzer to win the game for the Nuggets.
“D-Lo clearly gets hit in the face on a drive,” James said. “What the f— do we have a replay center for if it’s going to go [like that]? It doesn’t make sense to me.”
As the third quarter was coming to a close, D’Angelo Russell drove to the basket for a chance at extending the Lakers lead to 12 points. Michael Porter Jr. was called for a shooting foul and Nuggets coach Michael Malone challenged the call. Despite the video showing Porter Jr. hit Russell in the face, the call was overturned and the ball was awarded to Denver.
Taking to X after the game, Russell added, “That’s a foul we all saw it on national television.”
Scott Foster, the crew chief Monday night, deemed the contact to be “marginal” and thus overturned the call. With less than a minute remaining in the game, James was called for a foul against Murray that Laker sources say also could be considered “marginal contact.”
“It makes no sense to me,” James continued. “It bothers me. … And then I just saw what happened with the Sixers-Knicks game too. Like, what are we doing? It’s f—ing stupid.”
James and the Lakers know they should be heading to Los Angeles with the series tied 1-1, but now they must win four-of-five in order to advance. Game 3 will take place Thursday.
“Protect home,” James said. “That’s where my mindset goes. And obviously, the only game that matters now is Game 3 and how we can get better. How we can figure this team out. So, Game 3 is where my mindset is.”
