Subscribe
Follow Us
The Los Angeles Lakers kicked off their post-All-Star break campaign with a tough loss to their cross-town rivals, the Los Angeles Clippers. It was a hardly-fought battle that resulted in LeBron James and Co. suffering a narrow 105-102 loss.
As it turns out, however, the Lakers could have actually escaped with a victory in this one had it not been for a moment of poor officiating from the referees. According to the NBA's Last Two Minute Report, the game officials missed a foul call on a LeBron drive that could have affected the outcome of the match.
With a little over a minute remaining and the Lakers clinging to a precarious one-point lead, LeBron drove strong to the basket as the shot clock was winding down. He appeared to get hit on the elbow by Clippers forward Terance Mann as James attempted to lay the ball in, but the referees decided against blowing the whistle on Mann. According to the L2M, this was an incorrect non-call:
The NBA’s Last 2 Minute Report from Clippers-Lakers had 2 missed called, and says both replay reviews were correct.
First, Terance Mann should’ve been whistled for a foul on this LeBron shot attempt. Mann hit him on the elbow. pic.twitter.com/1CBwfBVa7G
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) February 26, 2022
The Clippers took possession of the ball after LeBron's miss and it resulted in Amir Coffey making two free throws to give the Clippers a one-point lead. The Lakers were still able to take the lead shortly after, but there's no denying that this four-point swing had a significant impact on the outcome of this contest.
It is also worth noting, however, that the Clippers were also the victim of an incorrect non-call, per the L2M report. Russell Westbrook should have been called for a foul on Marcus Morris with 40 seconds remaining in the game. Morris ended up sinking the jumper anyway, but he should have been given an extra free-throw for an and-1:
Second, Russell Westbrook should’ve been whistled for a foul on Marcus Morris here, stepping on his foot before the shot and causing him to trip. pic.twitter.com/dyfFeh5lQN
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) February 26, 2022
I guess the one mistake cancels off the other one? Whatever the case may be, it was the Clippers who came away with the big victory and there is just no changing that fact.
The Lakers fall to 27-32 after Friday's defeat and are now 2.5 games behind the Clippers for the eighth spot in the Western Conference. To say that this was a big game for the Lakers would be an understatement.
