The Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors are two of the NBA's fiercest competitors, and it showed in their Finals rematch on Monday night. The Warriors won the game 188-108, thanks to a fruitful second half by their bench unit. The Cavaliers definitely have some questions on both offense and defense that relates to how they plan on stopping the Warriors if they should meet in June. However, for now, it is worth mentioning that the Cavaliers lost even though they got away with some questionable plays down the stretch.
LeBron swatted Curry's shot off the backboard. Then LeBron pushed Curry underneath the basket. Went unnoticed.
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) January 16, 2018
In the game, LeBron James completed an epic chase-down block on Stephen Curry, which was one of the highlights of the night. However, after the block, James blatantly pushed Curry underneath the basket, which went by without a single whistle from the NBA referees. If you are skeptical, you can view the entire play by watching James' highlights below.
https://youtu.be/FUSAsDoHF9U?t=356
Since the Warriors traveled to Cleveland for a game against the Cavaliers, it can be argued that the referees were lenient on the home team. Still, plays like this are an embarrassment to the league and it puts the referees in the spotlight for another crucial play that they missed. Had this have been the final seconds, the game would have been noticeably altered and unfair for both teams.
This is not to say that James is a dirty player. The contact was most likely non-intentional on his part. Nonetheless, unnecessary contact such as this should be deterred by NBA players and referees altogether. Hopefully, the referees and James can chalk this one up as their mistake and move on with a watchful eye for future games.
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