On Monday night, the Miami Heat played host to the visiting Los Angeles Lakers in a game that was highly anticipated, as it came close to being an NBA Finals matchup last year and actually was the matchup in the NBA bubble in 2020.
Fortunately for the league and its fans, the clash between the superstar duos of LeBron James and Anthony Davis and Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo didn’t disappoint.
The game came down to the wire at Kaseya Center in Miami, with the Heat in control for most of the game, but the Lakers were resilient enough to force the game to one last possession with seconds on the clock and Los Angeles down by one.
Ultimately, Cam Reddish missed a wide-open three-pointer in the corner after James passed out of a double team, resulting in the Heat getting their third win of the season while the Lakers dropped below .500 at 3-4.
Late in the game, there were some questionable calls and some obvious non-calls, especially when it came to James driving to the basket, which forced the Lakers front office to reach out to the league to complain.
The league responded to that complaint on Tuesday, claiming no fault of their referees, which drew quite the reaction from James on Twitter.
The game isn’t won or lost in the last 2 mins! If you know the game things happen throughout the 1st, 2nd. 3rd and first 10 mins of 4th that has MAJOR impact on outcomes. https://t.co/ReW6r43Wax
— LeBron James (@KingJames) November 8, 2023
Even though James is technically correct in his assessment, bad calls and non-calls are part of the game, and many teams have to deal with bad outcomes.
It seems counterproductive to look back rather than look forward in the NBA, even if the team clearly did get the best end of calls being made or not made.
However, it’s safe to say tomorrow’s game against the Houston Rockets will likely go a bit differently, with James probably living at the free-throw line.
NEXT:
Fans React To Lakers Contacting The League