LeBron James EXPLODES on Lakers coach Darvin Ham for not challenging out-of-bounds call in Nuggets playoff game… but controversial moment doesn’t prove costly in vital win
LeBron James was furious with Lakers coach Darvin Ham for not challenging an out-of-bounds call in their crucial NBA playoff game against the Nuggets.
Just under six minutes into the fourth and final quarter in Los Angeles, television cameras captured a seething LeBron urging the Lakers bench to challenge the call after he was deemed to have knocked the ball out of play.
When Ham and Co chose not to, the 39-year-old jumped up and down in anger and threw out his arm to express his frustration.
He then turned around and appeared to utter a few more angry words toward the head coach before the Nuggets scored from a wide-open layup immediately afterward.
LeBron James was furious with Lakers coach Darvin Ham during their game against the Nuggets
The LA superstar expressed his frustration when Ham chose not to challenge an out-of-bounds call
He seemed to lose patience with the Lakers’ head coach with six minutes left
Fortunately for LeBron, the no-challenge proved to be inexpensive for his team as they held on for a crucial 119-108 win, keeping their playoff hopes alive.
After falling behind 3-0 in their first round match against Denver, LA knew another loss at Crypto.com Arena would dump them out of the postseason.
However, LeBron and Anthony Davis had other ideas, with the star Lakers duo combining for 55 points in an impressive win that night. Davis was there with 25 of them while his iconic teammate recorded 30.
D’Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves also scored 21 points each for the seventh-seeded Lakers, who snapped their 11-game losing streak against the defending NBA champions with their first win over the Nuggets since December 2022.
Denver swept Los Angeles out of the Western Conference finals last season, but the current Lakers responded to this 0-3 deficit with a performance that was worth more than a team that entered the postseason with twelve wins in fifteen games.
James scored 14 points in the fourth quarter on 6-for-8 shooting, once again carrying the Lakers late in his 21st NBA season. He had never been part of a team that was swept out of the postseason in the first round.
Luckily for LeBron and the Lakers, they kept their playoff hopes alive with a crucial win
Despite celebrating his 40th birthday at the end of this calendar year, LeBron is still proving to be one of the league’s best players.
While his Lakers have yet to win their next three against Denver, the basketball icon proved it can be done by shooting 14-for-23 from the field.
Game 5 takes place on Monday in Denver, where the Nuggets will look to close out the series at home and advance to the conference semifinals.