LeBron James was seething after the Los Angeles Lakers watched a golden opportunity slip away.
His frustration wasn’t so much centered on blowing a 20-point lead. Or his late missed three-pointer that rimmed out with the game tied. Or Jamal Murray’s fadeaway buzzer-beater that gave the Denver Nuggets a 101-99 win over the Lakers in Game 2 of their first-round series on Monday night.
James instead took aim at the NBA’s replay center in Secaucus, New Jersey, after a second-half foul on Michael Porter Jr was overturned. A foul was initially called after Porter struck D’Angelo Russell in the face, but the call was reversed with the league saying Porter made only marginal contact on Russell.
Michael Porter Jr. hit D'Angelo Russell in the face. MPJ was called for a foul which was then challenged.
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) April 23, 2024
Nuggets won the challenge.
Thought? 🤔pic.twitter.com/X01ufZXX4g
“I don’t understand what’s going on in the replay center, to be honest,” said James, whose team heads back to Los Angeles for Game 3 on Thursday facing a 2-0 deficit. “D-Lo clearly gets hit in the face on the drive. What the fuck do we have a replay center for … It doesn’t make sense. It makes no sense. It bothers me.”
Russell agreed with James. “That’s a foul we all saw it on national television,” Russell wrote on X after the game.
Murray and the Nuggets dug themselves out of a 68-48 hole in the third quarter to capture their 10th straight win over the Lakers.
James had a chance to give the Lakers a lead with about 16 seconds left on a wide-open three-pointer. “Rimmed out,” lamented James, who finished with 26 points and 12 assists. Porter grabbed the rebound, setting up Murray’s game-winner, a fadeaway jumper over Anthony Davis as time expired.
In discussing the replay center, James referenced Monday’s earlier game, when the New York Knicks rallied in the final 30 seconds for a wild 104-101 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. The Knicks got the go-ahead three-pointer from Donte DiVincenzo with 13 seconds left, a possession that started when they stole the ball from Tyrese Maxey. Joel Embiid said Maxey was fouled, and also that coach Nick Nurse and some players had attempted to call timeout before the Knicks got the ball.
“What are we doing?” James said as he ended his postgame interview.