LeBron James had a lot to say about the officiating crew after the Lakers ‘ 101-99 loss to the Nuggets Monday night in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series. It was a game that looked like the Lakers were on pace to win, with dominating performances from Anthony Davis and D’Angelo Russell . But over the final five minutes of the game, Denver came alive, chipped away at what was once a 20-point L.A. lead, and eventually won the game on a Jamal Murray mid-range buzzer-beating jumper.
But James took issue with a play that happened in the third quarter, where Michael Porter Jr . was called for a foul on Russell, but after a coach’s challenge by Michael Malone was overturned.
“I don’t understand what’s going on in the replay center, to be honest,” James said . “[Russell] 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? It doesn’t make sense to me. Makes no sense to me. It bothers me.”
At the time of the foul, the Lakers were up 79-69 with 45 seconds left in the third quarter, but the Nuggets were in the midst of a 14-5 scoring run with momentum heading into the fourth quarter. Russell drove to the basket, and as he gathered to attempt a shot, Porter made contact with Russell’s face, which caused the officials to call a foul.