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Dave McMenamin, ESPN Staff Writer
LOS ANGELES — The final two minutes of the Golden State Warriors' 128-121 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday night took more than 20 minutes in real time, thanks to a series of replay reviews and shots. – Malfunction of the clock.
The delay began with 1:50 left in the fourth inning, when the Lakers were leading 124-120. With Lakers center Jackson Hayes and Golden State forward Andrew Wiggins both giving the Warriors the ball, Los Angeles coach Darvin Ham disputes an out-of-bounds call and ends the Warriors' possession. That was when it was recognized. I went to get the rebound.
The referees were considering an out-of-bounds call and decided that LeBron James' corner 3-pointer as he came down the court with 2:07 left in the previous game did not count.
The Lakers ultimately won the challenge — Hayes and Wiggins faced off for a jump ball — but lost points in the process.
“I've never seen a call like that before, at that time of year,” said James, who had 40 points, nine assists and eight rebounds. “It was kind of weird. … It took the momentum away from us.”
The ruling is eerily similar to one against the Minnesota Timberwolves in December, when James' second-half 3-pointer that would have tied the game was downgraded to a 2-point shot after review. Just like that night, James objected to the call Saturday.
“Obviously I didn't think I stepped on the line,” James said Saturday. “I knew how much space there was out there. And when I shoot, I shoot on my toes, so it's kind of hard to get my heels down.”
Crew chief David Guthrie explained the ruling to pool reporters in a postgame statement.
“When James started shooting, his left foot was out of bounds,” Guthrie said. “Yes, it can be considered at that time. The rule is Rule 13, Section II(f)(3). Regardless of whether the shooter committed a boundary violation, replay center personnel must Check only the position of the ” moment when it touches the floor just before releasing the shot. This can also be applied during other replay his triggers. ”
The three-point reversal helped his team, but Warriors coach Steve Kerr said he could live without the ruling right away.
“I also don't like the rule that you can go back and look at out-of-bounds shots and LeBron's 3s,” Kerr said. “It seems like that happens once or twice a year. I wish that rule would go away. I think we try too hard to get everything right at the expense of flow. I mean… Who cares? “That guy's foot is half an inch on the line? Is it worth going back 45 seconds and changing everything with unintended consequences? Sure, that's my favorite It's not a rule.”
However, James defended the spirit of the replay rule.
“At the end of the day, we want to do it right,” James said. “So it's unfortunate what happened. But obviously we want to do it right. And our staff has a job to do, and that's the referees. They have a job to do. , they have to do it as best they can. that's ok. ”
With James' 3 nullified and the score back at 124-117, Wiggins got a jump ball and gave it to Draymond Green, who tried to corral it near the baseline.
James was penalized when the heel of his sneaker appeared to touch the side's out-of-bounds line, but the Lakers believed the toe of Green's shoe did the same thing on the baseline with 1:48 remaining. was. So Ham took advantage of another coach's challenge.
After another review, the referee ruled Green out of bounds and Los Angeles was given possession of the ball. The Lakers inbounded the ball, but officials immediately blew the whistle after realizing the shot clock was not working properly. After the referee consulted with the center court scoreboard operator, LA was again awarded the ball inbounds, and the shot clock malfunctioned again after the Lakers threw the ball in.
The false starts occurred four times in a row, and each time they were late, the boos got louder. The ABC broadcast even showed actor and director Ben Affleck, who was sitting courtside with Jennifer Lopez, slumped in his chair, unable to hide his impatience. ABC cameras also captured James shaking his head and laughing at the lengthy stoppage, saying he was “too old for this.”
Eventually, Crypto.com Arena public relations announcer Lawrence Tanter told the crowd that the shot clock would be counting down over the arena's speakers for play to resume.
Los Angeles then got the ball and James got the ball from Warriors star Stephen Curry (31 points), who connected with Jonathan Kuminga (23 points) for an alley-oop dunk that put Golden State up 1:1, 126-117. he led. 07 left.
“It was weird,” Kerr said. “It seems like a few times a year I get clock issues. It's as extreme as I got with my backup unit not working. It's a shame. I felt sorry for the fans. It was great ''After the game, for the last two minutes, we're all just looking at each other and wondering what to do.''
Several Lakers players reported that while the Warriors had possession of the ball with 10:53 left in the fourth quarter, the shot clock was disrupted, counting down from 10 to 9, then being reset to 24 and play to continue, leading to Trayce – Pointed out that Jackson-Davis finished. He hit a driving hook shot at 10:38 to keep possession and give Golden State a 104-96 lead.
“It's not like their points were taken away because the clock was broken,” Hamm said. “They kept playing until the end. But that's the reality.”
The sequence of events was also covered in the post-match pool report.
“The shot clock malfunctioned during live play at the time, and that is not an issue that can be considered,” Guthrie said in a statement, adding that it was the officiating staff's responsibility to notice the discrepancy in the moment, but they failed to do so. he added. .
LA entered the night in ninth place in the Western Conference standings with a one-game lead over Golden State. Saturday's result reversed the teams' standings, leaving the Lakers in 10th place with 14 games remaining.
“We need everything to win,” Lakers guard D'Angelo Russell (23 points, 13 assists) said. “All of those things are important at this time of year.”
ESPN's Ramona Shelburne contributed to this report.
