LeBron James and the Lakers were able to beat Kevin Durant and the Suns, 106–103, on Tuesday night to advance to the semifinals of the NBA’s in-season tournament.
But it didn’t come without controversy.
The Lakers seemed to benefit from a bad call in the final seconds of the game when the refs granted Los Angeles a timeout even though it didn’t seem like Austin Reaves had possession of the ball.
Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Reggie Miller was on the call for TNT and he rightfully questioned how the refs could have given the Lakers a timeout since possession of the ball was very much in question.
Check this out:
Lakers got this timeout call on what seemed to be a loose ball 👀 pic.twitter.com/j1xdODEgNo
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 6, 2023
Kevin Durant was asked about it after the game and he handled it with pure class:
"That's not the game. That's one play. It was a 48-minute game. I don't like complaining about calls. Sometimes the ref isn't going to get it right all the time. Sometimes it's on us to play through all of that stuff."
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) December 6, 2023
Kevin Durant on Austin Reaves play at end of #Suns loss. pic.twitter.com/lqyNe5lqfK
The Lakers will face the Pelicans in the semifinals in Las Vegas Thursday night.
