The Los Angeles Lakers were one key timeout away from potentially completing a huge comeback over the Houston Rockets on Sunday night.
Down 118-115 with 7.1 seconds left on the clock, Lakers guard Max Christie inbounded the ball to LeBron James at midcourt right as James appeared to call for a timeout. The game’s officials didn’t seem to see James’s “T” gesture and allowed play to go on, which resulted in Rockets star Fred VanFleet stealing the ball from James and immediately getting fouled.
James looked frustrated that he didn’t get the timeout call and was seen making his case to a nearby ref. The Rockets would go on to win, 119-115.
Check LeBron trying to call timeout way before the ball was thrown away pic.twitter.com/jJbRat5VXt
— BBALLBREAKDOWN (@bballbreakdown) January 6, 2025
After the game, James spoke to reporters about the costly missed timeout call but didn’t use it as an excuse for the Lakers losing the contest.
“That’s why I called a timeout,” James said. “They played it good, they stayed on top of everything. I saw Fred shoot the gap on me, and I called timeout before—I think Max definitely had the ball in his hands. Wasn’t rewarded, but that happens. You don’t lose a game because of that.”
James and Anthony Davis led the Lakers on a valiant comeback effort after being down by as many as 22 points in the first half but ultimately came up short on their chance to tie the game late in the fourth.
The funniest part of the alleged missed timeout situation may be ESPN’s description of Christie trying to inbound the ball to James: at 5.1 seconds, the play-by-play line reads, “Max Christie bad pass (Fred VanVleet steals).”
Basketball, after all, is a game that can come down to the milliseconds, and time just wasn’t on James’s side this go-around.
More of the Latest Around the NBA
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Refs Seemed to Miss LeBron James Calling for Timeout Before Game-Sealing Turnover.
