The Los Angeles Lakers lost their most recent game to the Boston Celtics at the TD Garden. Towards the end of the game, LeBron James drove to the rim to attempt a layup. Jayson Tatum was among the Celtics players who were defending in the paint at that instance. This was when Tatum fouled LeBron and hit him on his left arm. This was a clear foul for everyone to see.
LeBron James absolutely fuming that he didn’t get the foul call at the end of Lakers-Celtics 😳pic.twitter.com/vuTiEHEBJh
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) January 29, 2023
Unfortunately for LeBron and the Lakers, the referees at the game did not call the foul. When this was the case, LeBron’s reaction surprised many in the arena and millions around the world as well. He seemed to be visibly upset with the decision and sunk to the ground in disappointment.
That one hurt BIG TIME!!! I don’t understand
— LeBron James (@KingJames) January 29, 2023
Apart from that, he also tweeted and mentioned in an interview that he does not understand the frequency of the decisions that go against him. That was not all the drama for the day. Patrick Beverley was also whistled for a technical at the end of regulation, which seemed to raise eyebrows as well.
NBA referee Eric Lewis comes clean about no-call decision for the foul on LeBron James
As per NBA.com’s Pool Report that takes place after every game, Eric Lewis addressed the questions about Pat Bev’s technical. He said that Beverley’s actions were “Inappropriate” when resenting to a no-call decision. Moreover, he admitted that the referee crew got the decision wrong when it came to the foul on LeBron James. Lewis said, “There was contact. At the time, during the game, we did not see a foul. The crew missed the play.”
Patrick Beverley took a professional camera to show the officials the missed foul call on LeBron James in the final seconds of Lakers-Celtics.
He got hit with a technical foul for it.pic.twitter.com/yNNf7vnOc9
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) January 29, 2023
That was not all. According to sources, the NBA had already concluded that the officials’ got their decision wrong on the night. The foul on LeBron should have been whistled and Jayson Tatum should have been called for a shooting foul.
The NBA has already determined in its postgame review that the officials got the call wrong on the Lakers’ last possession of the 4th Q and a Jayson Tatum should have been called for a shooting foul on LeBron James, league sources told ESPN.
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) January 29, 2023
This has not been the only time that the Lakers have had decisions go against them this season. It must be a tough one to take for LeBron and Co. especially when they have been performing decently and are currently trying to improve on their 13th seed in the West this year.