The Celtics wanted 5 further minutes to knock off the Lakers in an time beyond regulation thriller Saturday night time.
Five further minutes, and one essential no-call.
With the rating tied at 105 apiece, LeBron James drew an obvious foul within the remaining seconds of regulation when Celtics star Jayson Tatum hit his left forearm as James rose up on a possible game-winning layup that fell brief. However, no whistle was blown, and time expired. After the sport, referee Eric Lewis admitted his crew missed Tatum’s foul on the finish of regulation that might have awarded James potential game-winning free throws:
Instead, the Celtics pulled away for a 125-121 win. Lakers ahead Anthony Davis didn’t maintain again when reacting to the officiating post-game.
“It was bulls—. At the end of the day, it’s unacceptable,” Davis instructed reporters. “And I guarantee nothing’s going to happen to the refs. We got cheated tonight, honestly. It’s a blatant foul … LeBron gets smacked across his arm. It’s unacceptable, to be honest. The refs were bad. They were bad tonight.”
Lakers coach Darvin Ham shared an analogous sentiment in his personal press convention.
“As much as you try not to put it on officiating, it’s becoming increasingly difficult. Yeah, there’s a bunch of stuff we could’ve done better … and it’s unfortunate that, you know, the game ends on a play like that,” Ham mentioned. “It’s robust — and also you don’t ask for favoritism. You simply ask for consistency. That’s it. And apparently, I used my problem too quickly, I don’t know.
“But it is what it is, man. My hat’s off to the Celtics. They’re a hell of a ballclub, championship-level ballclub. The best player on earth can’t get a call. It’s amazing.”
Ham later added: “At the end, you have to call a cat a cat. You can’t look at something and try to pretend it’s not what it is.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com