LeBron James was upset after the Los Angeles Lakers squandered a good opportunity.
His annoyance wasn’t so much over losing a 20-point lead. Or his late missed 3-pointer, which rimmed out with the game tied. Or Jamal Murray’s fadeaway buzzer-beater that lifted the Denver Nuggets to a 101-99 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 2 of their first-round series on Monday night.
James’ rage came from a greater distance: the NBA’s replay center in Secaucus, New Jersey. At the center of his rage was a second-half foul on Michael Porter Jr. that was reversed by the league because MPJ made just minor contact on D’Angelo Russell.
“I don’t understand what’s going on in the replay center, to be honest,” said James, whose team returns to Los Angeles for Game 3 on Thursday, behind 2-0. “D-Lo was certainly smacked in the face during the drive. What the (expletive) do we have a replay center? It makes no sense. It doesn’t make sense. “It bothers me.”
James was not his normal talkative self in his postgame interview after the Lakers saw Murray and the Nuggets come back from a 68-48 deficit to win their 10th straight game against the Lakers.
With about 16 seconds remaining, James had a wide-open 3-pointer that might have given the Lakers the lead.
“Rimmed out,” bemoaned James, who finished with 26 points and 12 assists.
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Porter collected the rebound, setting up Murray’s game-winning fadeaway shot over Anthony Davis as time expired.
James got straight to the point after the game.
On Denver’s comeback, which featured a 32-20 fourth-quarter loss: “We missed shots. We still had terrific looks; we simply missed them. “They made it.”
On Russell shooting seven three-pointers after going one for nine from deep in the series opener: “We never lost faith in him.” “D-Lo is D-Lo.”
On whether the Lakers can carry any momentum from this victory into victory 3 in Los Angeles: “Every game is its own challenge.”
On the difficulties of a painful loss: “Of course, it’s a heartbreaking game, and you don’t want to lose in that way.”
That’s when James started expressing his dissatisfaction with the replay center. Earlier in the game, Murray was called for a foul as James drove to the basket, but the Nuggets successfully challenged the ruling.
In his replay-center diatribe, James referred to Monday’s previous game, in which the New York Knicks rallied in the final 30 seconds of a dramatic 104-101 win against the Philadelphia 76ers. Donte DiVincenzo hit the go-ahead three-pointer with 13 seconds left, capping off a drive that began when they stole the ball from Tyrese Maxey.
Joel Embiid said Maxey was fouled, and coach Nick Nurse and several players tried to call a timeout before the Knicks retrieved the ball.
“What are we doing?” James stated this as he concluded his postgame interview.
