(Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
The Los Angeles Lakers are heading back home with an 0-2 series deficit.
It seemed like they had finally cracked the code and were ready to beat the Denver Nuggets, but that wasn’t the case.
The Nuggets never led by more than three points in the game, and that was in the first quarter.
Darvin Ham’s team dominated the rest of the way, and they were up by as many as 20 points late in the second half.
That’s why it didn’t make much sense that LeBron James called out the referees after the loss.
Following the game, James ranted about how the referees overturned an evident foul from Michael Porter Jr. on D’Angelo Russell, wondering why they even have a replay center (via Spectrum SportsNet).
“I don’t understand what’s going on in the replay center, to be honest… It makes no sense to me… Then I just saw what happened with the Sixers/Knicks game too, what are we doing?” – LeBron James pic.twitter.com/7OWLmuf8jn
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) April 23, 2024
Granted, the replay showed that Porter Jr. smacked Russell in the face, and a foul should’ve been called.
Then again, the Lakers — who lead the league in free-throw differential by a huge margin — went to the line 13 times to the Nuggets’ 17, so it’s not like there was much of a disparity there.
Even if the refs missed a call and the Lakers may have had two more points, there’s no excuse for blowing a 20-point lead in a crucial postseason game, and that’s not on the referees.
The Lakers have been quite frustrated with Mike Malone’s team, and it just doesn’t matter how good they play; they cannot beat them.
And while the referees could be a factor every couple of games, they’re not to blame for losing ten in a row against the same opponent.
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