LeBron James was visibly upset after the Los Angeles Lakers lost a significant lead to the Denver Nuggets. Despite a commanding 20-point advantage, the Lakers stumbled, allowing the Nuggets to come back and secure a 101-99 victory in Game 2.
The Controversial Replay Decision
At the core of James’ anger lies the interpretation by the NBA’s replay center in Secaucus of a foul call toward the end of the game, which was subsequently overturned. The league honestly stated that Michael Porter Jr.’s light contact with D’Angelo Russell was only marginal, thus ruling. This was something that James needed a moment or two to answer for himself and assess “why the replay center came into existence.” “Coach, they have just blown it again. D-Lo got in one on one, and what was the point of having a video replay center? The call about the foul on the play isn’t caught.” James screamed.
The Lakers’ Missed Opportunities
As much as LeBron tried to take over the championship, he succeeded at that with ease. And then, in the end, the ball missed an open shot of a 3-pointer at the brim of the rim. Anthony Davis had a physical matchup with Jamal Murray in the last play, leaving the young star open for a game-winning fadeaway jumper, which eventually went in.
LeBron James Speaks Out
Postgame, James was succinct in his remarks:
On the Lakers’ missed shots: “We were fully confident in our strength on the field but unfortunately, those conversions were too elusive for us. Denver took advantage of its opportunities.”
On D’Angelo Russell’s performance: “God gave us faith in D-Lo, and he always proves himself to be a very effective shooter. Tonight was one such evidence.”
On taking lessons from the loss: “Each game brings new challenges to be fathomed.”
On the emotional toll of the loss: “The most painful part for me is that I have lost via this style of play.”
Moreover, the heat was also in James’s bone in a foul on him by Denver earlier in the game. He was visiting Monday night and tried to sell the tickets to a mushin Knicks-Bulls game. 76ers’ game was not an exclusion again, and again, the league proves the inadequacy of provided instructions and a point to be made, i.e. the need to be more consistent and clearer in the league decisions.
Closing Thoughts
James’ remarks in the postgame interview served to thoroughly expose his increasing dissatisfaction towards the referee and the replay center. That put a question to him, “What are we doing?“, that was also shared by many fans and players. The Lakers next hop on the bus to fly home to Los Angeles in trail 0-2 in this series, with a great deal of work needed to get back into the series in Game 3.
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