The Los Angeles Lakers were at the center of yet another officiating controversy, but this time, they were on the winning end of the ordeal. During LeBron James and company's 132-131 win over the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday, fans believed that the officials, namely Ben Taylor, had it out for the Raptors. After all, the Lakers took 23 free throws in the fourth quarter alone, while the Raptors had just 13 attempts for the entire game.

Making matters worse, 19 of the Lakers' free throw attempts came in the final four minutes of the contest, with points at a premium especially during what was a back-and-forth affair with the Raptors. Meanwhile, Toronto had a grand total of zero attempts at the charity stripe during the same period.

This free throw disparity is historic in its own right. According to OptaSTATS on Twitter (X), this is the largest “shutout” in free throw attempts over the final four minutes of regulation since November 9, 2010, when the Miami Heat shot 19 FTs compared to the Utah Jazz's zero. During that aforementioned contest, LeBron James was also a part of the team that had the advantage at the charity stripe.

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The big difference, however, is that the Heat needed all the advantage they can get on the night. Even though they shot more free throws, they ended up losing to the Jazz in overtime. The Lakers encountered no such problems, especially when they were on point from the free throw line in the clutch.

Nevertheless, it remains a strong point of frustration among Raptors fans to see the officials bail out the Lakers time and time again with free points from the foul line, although it must be said that eight of those attempts came from intentional fouls. That alone inflates the numbers in the Lakers' favor. Some of those fouls (the Pascal Siakam one on Anthony Davis, and the foul on Max Christie) certainly warranted trips to the charity stripe.

Still, head coach Darko Rajakovic thinks that the Raptors should at least have gotten more than the two free throw attempts they received in the fourth quarter. Alas, what's done is done, and all the Raptors can do now is look ahead to their game against the Los Angeles Clippers later tonight.