Victor Oladipo was bummed out after his Indiana Pacers lost Game 5 of their playoff series to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night, not just because of the defeat, but also because of a controversial call that went against his team.
Oladipo drove to the basket with the game tied at 95 and attempted a layup in the final seconds. LeBron James rejected his shot with a chase-down block that preserved the tie and gave Cleveland the ball back. There were questions about whether or not James goaltended on the play, but it was not reviewed.
(Goaltend ?) pic.twitter.com/tEpPj7t49D
— TrashTalk (@TrashTalk_fr) April 26, 2018
Oladipo said after the game that he thought the refs missed the goaltend.
#Pacers Victor Oladipo said he got grabbed by LeBron James and it was a goaltend. “It sucks. That layup is huge. That 3 was big time but who’s to say they even run THAT play? They missed that one and it sucks”
— Chris Fedor (@ChrisFedor) April 26, 2018
“It sucks. That layup is huge. That 3 was big time but who’s to say they even run THAT play? They missed that one and it sucks,” Oladipo said, via Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor.
I thought the play was too close to overturn, but others felt Oladipo’s ball went off the backboard before James touched it.
Of course, we know how things ended — James drained a 3-pointer to win the game 98-95 and put his Cavs up 3-2 in the series. In the end, most people will just remember the result of the game rather than the potentially missed call.
