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The Celtics needed five extra minutes to knock off the Lakers in an overtime thriller Saturday night.
Five extra minutes, and one crucial no-call.
With the score tied at 105 apiece, LeBron James drew an apparent foul in the final seconds of regulation when Celtics star Jayson Tatum hit his left forearm as James rose up on a potential game-winning layup that fell short. However, no whistle was blown, and time expired. After the game, referee Eric Lewis admitted his crew missed Tatum’s foul at the end of regulation that would have awarded James potential game-winning free throws:
Instead, the Celtics pulled away for a 125-121 win. Lakers forward Anthony Davis didn’t hold back when reacting to the officiating post-game.
“It was bulls—. At the end of the day, it’s unacceptable,” Davis told reporters. “And I guarantee nothing’s going to happen to the refs. We got cheated tonight, honestly. It’s a blatant foul … LeBron gets smacked across his arm. It’s unacceptable, to be honest. The refs were bad. They were bad tonight.”
Lakers coach Darvin Ham shared a similar sentiment in his own press conference.
“As much as you try not to put it on officiating, it’s becoming increasingly difficult. Yeah, there’s a bunch of stuff we could’ve done better … and it’s unfortunate that, you know, the game ends on a play like that,” Ham said. “It’s tough — and you don’t ask for favoritism. You just ask for consistency. That’s it. And apparently, I used my challenge too soon, I don’t know.
“But it is what it is, man. My hat’s off to the Celtics. They’re a hell of a ballclub, championship-level ballclub. The best player on earth can’t get a call. It’s amazing.”
Ham later added: “At the end, you have to call a cat a cat. You can’t look at something and try to pretend it’s not what it is.”
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