LeBron James fouled out for just the fifth time in his career, and it came in the final minute of a playoff game with his team trailing.
James was called for an offensive foul with 56 seconds left in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals between the Miami Heat and Indiana Pacers for supposedly fouling Lance Stephenson on a moving screen. It was an extremely petty violation by James, and one you never expect to see called.
James made contact with Stephenson by stepping on the Pacers guard’s foot:
The referees then reviewed the next play and said a ball went off David West, giving the ball to the Heat. But they called a travel on Dwyane Wade on the possession after that, which gave the ball and essentially the game back to the Pacers. Indiana won 99-92 to tie the series at two.
This was the second time in his playoff career that James fouled out of a playoff game. The previous time happened in the Eastern Conference finals against the Boston Celtics last year.
Even Kevin Durant tweeted that he thought it was a bad call by the referees:
Bad call..
— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) May 29, 2013
No doubt, im just saying what i thought RT @juvie2trill: “@kdtrey5: Bad call..” Its part of the game, bad calls on both side throughout
— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) May 29, 2013
Image via @CJZero, @BenSchleuss
