LeBron James fumed after the Los Angeles Lakers saw a golden opportunity slip away.
His frustration wasn’t so much about blowing a 20-point lead. Or his late missed three-pointer that ended with the game tied. Or Jamal Murray’s fadeaway buzzer-beater that gave the Denver Nuggets a 101-99 win over the Lakers on Monday night in Game 2 of their first-round series.
James instead took aim at the NBA’s replay center in Secaucus, New Jersey, after a second-half foul on Michael Porter Jr. was undone. A foul was initially called after Porter punched D’Angelo Russell in the face, but the call was overturned and the league said Porter made only marginal contact with Russell.
Michael Porter Jr. punched D’Angelo Russell in the face. MPJ was called for a foul, which was then challenged.
Nuggets won the challenge.
Thought? 🤔pic.twitter.com/X01ufZXX4g
— Link Points (@Link Points) April 23, 2024
“I honestly don’t understand what’s going on in the replay center,” said James, whose team returns to Los Angeles for Game 3 on Thursday and faces a 2-0 deficit. “D-Lo obviously gets hit in the face during the ride. What the hell do we have a repeat center for… It doesn’t make any sense. It does not make any sense. It bothers me.”
Russell agreed with James. “That’s a foul we all saw on national television,” Russell said wrote on X after the match.
Murray and the Nuggets dug themselves out of a 68-48 hole in the third quarter to earn their 10th straight win over the Lakers.
James had a chance to give the Lakers the lead with about 16 seconds left on a wide-open three-pointer. “Rimmed,” complained James, who finished with 26 points and 12 assists. Porter grabbed the rebound and set up Murray’s game-winner, a fadeaway jumper over Anthony Davis as time expired.
When 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 had been fouled, and also said coach Nick Nurse and some players had tried to call a timeout before the Knicks got the ball.
“What are we doing?” James said as he ended his postgame interview.