Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James absolutely exploded on the court Saturday night on what will undoubtedly go down as one of the defining moments of the 2022-23 NBA season.
With the Lakers playing the scorching-hot Boston Celtics at the TD Garden, pressure was certainly on the underachieving Los Angeles team to steal a win from the best team in the Eastern Conference.
The team was on the verge of doing just that. James made his way to the bucket with the teams tied at 105 and mere seconds remaining in regulation.
As James drove to the bucket to seal what could’ve been a massive game-winning layup, Celtics star Jayson Tatum fouled James as he tried to get the ball in the hoop for the win.
The referees missed the foul on Tatum, and the game went to overtime. That officiating flub caused James to become visibly outraged on the court.
LeBron was not happy after this play to win the game. pic.twitter.com/FNMPBQTHox
— ESPN (@espn) January 29, 2023
The Tatum play in question looked like a clear hit to James’ arm as he was going for the bucket. It’s no wonder the Lakers superstar became so outwardly furious that the refs didn’t send him to the line for potentially game-sealing free throws.
Was LeBron James fouled on the final play here by Jayson Tatum? 🤔pic.twitter.com/y8P0LT0hZb
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) January 29, 2023
The Celtics would take the game 125-121 in overtime, which added to the frenzy around what looks to be one of the biggest (if not the biggest) missed calls of the NBA season.
The referees even admitted after the game that they missed the mark on this game-altering whiff, which doesn’t happen often.
The NBA has already determined in its postgame review that the officials got the call wrong on the Lakers’ last possession of the 4th Q and a Jayson Tatum should have been called for a shooting foul on LeBron James, league sources told ESPN.
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) January 29, 2023
Crew chief Eric Lewis says a foul should've been called, via NBA pool report. "There was contact. At the time, during the game, we did not see a foul. The crew missed the play.”
— Dan Woike (@DanWoikeSports) January 29, 2023
With a star of James’ magnitude being on the receiving end of the missed foul, this has the potential to stretch far beyond the final buzzer.
Feature image courtesy of ESPN.
