The Los Angeles Lakers secured a spot in the NBA In-Season Tournament semifinals with a hard-fought 106-103 victory over the Phoenix Suns, but the game wasn’t without controversy.
With just 11.2 seconds remaining and the Lakers leading 105-103, LeBron James inbounded the ball to Austin Reaves, who appeared to lose control and fell to the floor. Simultaneously, James called for a timeout, which was controversially granted with only 8 seconds on the clock.
Suns star Devin Booker expressed frustration, believing it was a wrong call as Reaves seemed to lose possession of the ball.
“Yeah, when they put so much anticipation on the game. We’re not asking for favoritism, just a fair chance. … To watch it unfold like that is tough,” Booker said postgame, per Ben Golliver.
A pool report on the timeout shed light on the officiating decision. Crew Chief Josh Tiven explained that during live play, the officials deemed the Lakers still had possession when James requested the timeout.
“During live play the official felt that LA still had possession of the ball when LeBron James requested the timeout. Through postgame video review in slow motion replay, we did see that Austin Reaves had his left hand on the ball while it’s pinned against his left leg, which does constitute control,” Tiven said.
Despite the contentious conclusion, the Lakers secured the last semifinal spot, and they will now face the New Orleans Pelicans in Las Vegas.
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