The Los Angeles Lakers’ 101-99 loss to the Denver Nuggets was a bitter pill to swallow, made even more frustrating for LeBron James by the controversial decisions of the NBA’s replay officials.
As Jamal Murray’s game-winning buzzer-beater capped a furious Nuggets comeback from 20 points down, LeBron’s ire was directed squarely at the league’s replay center in Secaucus, New Jersey.
“I don’t understand what’s going on in the replay center, to be honest,” a visibly agitated James stated after the game. “D-Lo (D’Angelo Russell) clearly gets hit in the face on the drive. What the f— do we have a replay center for? It doesn’t make sense. It makes no sense. It bothers me.”
At the center of LeBron’s consternation was a reversed foul call on Denver’s Michael Porter Jr. in the second half. Originally whistled for making contact with Russell on a drive, the replay center ruled that Porter had committed only marginal contact, overturning the initial call much to LeBron’s chagrin.
This added insult to injury on a night where the Lakers squandered a golden opportunity, blowing a 20-point second-half cushion. While LeBron James acknowledged the team’s poor execution down the stretch, his focus remained fixated on the inconsistent ruling from the officials.
“And then I just saw what happened with the Sixers-Knicks game, too. Like, what are we doing?.”
With that he put down his mic and walked out of the press conference.
