LeBron James missed his 12th straight game with the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night as he continues to recover from a groin injury, but he still managed to create headlines when he questioned the officials over a controversial call. As it turns out, even the NBA knows LeBron’s complaint was valid.
The Lakers were leading by three points in the final seconds of regulation when Russell Westbrook was fouled by Lonzo Ball beyond the 3-point line. It looked like Ball committed the foul well before Westbrook began his shooting motion, but the refs awarded Westbrook three free throws and allowed the Oklahoma City Thunder to force overtime.
This look at the play appears to show that Westbrook had not begun the act of shooting:
Westbrook hit 3 free throws to send this to OT because this was called a shooting foul, NICE pic.twitter.com/iBynTaqJW4
— Jake (@JakeWhite16) January 18, 2019
Like many others, James disagreed with the call. He decided to question it on Twitter by asking what exactly defines being in the act of shooting, and that may result in a fine. However, the officials admitted after the game that replays showed Westbrook had not begun the act of shooting.
The referees admitted it should have been called a non shooting foul on Lonzo Ball when Russell Westbrook got three free throws to close out regulation with a tie. pic.twitter.com/8X5xkUNxF4
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) January 18, 2019
This certainly isn’t the first time the NBA has admitted to making a crucial mistake late in a game, but it’s much easier to do so when the team on the wrong end of the call wins. Fortunately, the Lakers pulled away and won 138-128 in overtime.
