The Memphis Grizzlies Extended Universe was not pleased with the officiating during Friday night’s 115-105 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center.

Late in the second quarter, an Oscar (or maybe Razzie)-worthy flop by LeBron James sent both the Fox Sports Southeast broadcast team and #GrizzliesTwitter into joint frenzies.

Here's how the exchange played out between Memphis' flabbergasted broadcasters, Pete Pranica and Brevin Knight, upon seeing the replay of James' hammed-up theatrics:

Knight: “Are you serious?”

Pranica: “Oh my goodness.”

Knight: “Are you kidding me, man? This is getting out of hand. This is getting out of hand.”

Pranica: “That's just as bad as you can possibly imagine.”

Knight: “That is awful, horrible, whatever other words you can come up that are synonyms with those, is what that was.”

Noted Grizzlies commentator and podcaster Chris Vernon also expressed his dismay for the officiating (throughout the game).

It's true: that was a Royal Flop by the King. The defending champions did shoot 14 more free throws than Memphis (33-19), and the Grizzlies were whistled for nine more fouls (25-16). As Fastbreak Breakfast pointed out, the Grizz took six freebies over the second and third periods from eight Lakers' fouls, while L.A. earned 26 free-throw attempts thanks to 19 whistles on Memphis.

The frustration from Grizzlies faithful partially stemmed from watching their squad gradually blow a 22-2 first-quarter lead. It’s also far from the first time that the Lakers have been accused of receiving preferential treatment, however conspiratorial.

But are the complaints of Grizz fans actually merited?

James does have a personal history of serial flopping, including in recent meetings with Memphis.

In James' defense, the vast majority of players—across all sports—are guilty of playing the refs to secure a possible advantage. Considering how many calls he doesn’t get due to his immense size and strength (a.k.a. the Shaq Effect), it's hard to blame him for shamelessly embellishing contact every now and then.

Drawing whistles has been a recent point of emphasis for Frank Vogel. Through 27 games, L.A. has committed the seventh-fewest personal fouls in the league (Memphis is ninth), signaling a certain degree of discipline from the champs. (Of course, their top-ranked defense will indicate that, too.)

Last Saturday, Vogel revealed that players who draw a shooting foul on a 3-point attempt will receive the next day off (Wesley Matthews earned a free Saturday versus Memphis).

https://twitter.com/hmfaigen/status/1358301400875192325

Furthermore, the Lakers rank third in drawing fouls this season, while Memphis sits in last.

Grizz fans may not accept it, but Friday was not exactly Game 6 of the 2002 Western Conference Finals. Flipping-the-switch is a common tendency of the Lakers in 2021, and they did it once again. L.A. notably picked up its energy and pace midway through the third quarter, rolling to a 25-2 run led by LeBron’s best stretch of the night.

Sure, that run was aided seven consecutive plays with a foul, but the Lakers aggressively forced the issue during that stretch, and the Grizzlies looked out of sorts by the sudden shift in tides. Memphis turned the ball over nine times in the third quarter, which L.A. won, 41-23.

Unlike the Lakers did after losing to the Golden State Warriors in January and Game 5 of the NBA Finals in October, none of the Grizzlies players nor head coach Taylor Jenkins brought up the refs in their post-game remarks.

In fact, the Lakers are typically the ones to voice their displeasure with the refs. In the bubble, Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone roasted the Lakers for complaining to the NBA about officiating, which led to 35 Lakers free throw attempts in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals.

L.A. dominated Memphis, 60-37, on the glass, and scored 12 more points in the paint, 58-46—though Memphis fans might blame that on the whistle discrepancy, as Ja Morant (7-8 FT) and company attacked the paint fairly aggressively. Finally, the Lakers didn’t necessarily capitalize on their advantage in foul shots, as they missed 10. Memphis hit 15-of-19 from the charity stripe.

Ultimately, the Lakers should beat a Grizzlies squad with nine active players by 10 points, one way or another. Had L.A. not continued their trend of alarmingly sluggish starts and ice-cold 3-point shooting (6-of-30), the Lakers would not have needed 3.5 quarters to pull away.

In erasing the deficit, the Lakers became the third team over the last 25 years to win back-t0-back games after trailing by at least 20 points. L.A. has now won seven games in a row, though they’ve needed four total overtimes and multiple late-game pushes to fend off a slew of short-handed lottery teams.

Crucially, Anthony Davis returned after missing two games with a sore Achilles (or the area right above it, to be exact) and dominated with 35 points on 16-of-27 shooting. James provided his customary all-around brilliance, schooling a chatty Dillon Brooks with 28 points, nine rebounds, and eight dimes.

The Lakers got another winning effort from Kyle Kuzma—20 points, 10 rebounds, and hustle plays.

Morant had 22 points and 10 assists on 7-of-18 shooting, while Grayson Allen led the team with 23 points. Jonas Valanciunas added 22 points and eight rebounds, doing most of his damage came in the first half.

The 2002 Sacramento Kings have every right to hold a grudge against the NBA and certain officials for their Lakers treatment once upon a time. The 2021 Grizzlies—or more accurately, their fans and supporters—do not.