LeBron James has blasted the officiating in Game 2 of the first-round sequence between the Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets, which the Lakers misplaced 101-99 on a Jamal Murray game-winner.
Speaking to the media after the sport tonight, James was particularly pissed off with the replay middle showing to get a simple name incorrect.
LeBron James talks Game 2 loss to Denver, LA’s offense stagnating within the second half, NBA Replay Center pic.twitter.com/QaxbWvcUao
— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) April 23, 2024
“I don’t understand what’s going on in the replay center, to be honest,” he mentioned. “… DLo clearly gets hit in the face on a drive. 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.”
“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.”
That’s a foul all of us noticed it on nationwide tv.
— D’Angelo Russell (@Dloading) April 23, 2024
Lakers coach Darvin Ham additionally vented his frustration with the officiating postgame.
“Some tough calls,” he mentioned. “Some tough non-calls. But you can’t use any of that as an excuse. You gotta go out there and be ready to make plays whether the whistle gets blown or not. It’s getting real tricky — you go through the season, games being officiated one way, and then you get to the playoffs, and I guess it’s left up to the interpretation of the three individual guys that’s doing the job out there.”
Anthony Davis, in the meantime, mentioned among the blame nonetheless needed to be on the Lakers and their very own shortcomings as they coughed up a 20-point lead.
“We have stretches where we don’t know what we’re doing on both ends of the floor,” he mentioned.
Davis put up massive numbers for the Lakers, ending with 32 factors and 11 rebounds, whereas James had 26 factors, 8 rebounds and 12 assists. But it wasn’t sufficient to get a much-needed street win in Denver.
The Lakers and Nuggets will meet once more when Game 3 suggestions off in Los Angeles on Thursday.
READ MORE: LeBron James and D’Angelo Russell Speak Out on Frustrating Game 1 Loss
