On his birthday, LeBron James thought he was able to save the Los Angeles Lakers from the verge of defeat. With the clock winding down and the Minnesota Timberwolves ahead 107-104, LeBron drained the game-tying triple off an Anthony Davis fastbreak pass with 2.3 seconds left. The problem is, the referees saw it differently.

James' triple was ruled a two as he seemingly had a Kevin Durant-like moment with his toes on the line. However, after seeing a closer look at the close-up video of the play, James couldn't believe that it wasn't called a 3-pointer.

Here's a look at LeBron's shot:

James couldn't help but protest to the referees and plead to look at the video again, as he made his case why his shot should be called a triple. There's a really short gap between James' shoe and the 3-point line, but unfortunately for the Lakers, the ruling stands.

It's definitely a heartbreaking turn for LeBron James and the Lakers. For one, the screenshot of the play clearly shows that James' foot didn't step on the line. Secondly, they could have really used the win against the Timberwolves as they try to climb the Western Conference standings.

Of course there's no guarantee the Lakers would have won had the game proceeded to overtime, but it's certainly demoralizing to have been denied of that chance.

The Timberwolves secured the 108-106 victory shortly after. James, who is celebrating his 39th birthday on the day, finished with 26 points, three rebounds and six dimes. Anthony Davis had a monster 33-point, 17-rebound performance in the losing effort.

It remains to be seen what the NBA L2M report will say about the call, though it will be interesting to see how they respond and explain the photos and screenshots of the play that are now going viral.