A season that had so much promise is coming undone in a hurry for the Los Angeles Lakers. On Sunday night, it looked like the Lakers were going to tie up the series at two games apiece after a dominant third quarter, but it all fell apart in the fourth quarter as they suffered a 116-113 defeat, putting them on the brink of elimination. LeBron James, in particular, wasn't at his very best in the final frame as he went scoreless and was responsible for the foul that sent Anthony Edwards to the line to give Minnesota a three-point lead.

At first, however, James wasn't whistled for a foul; responsible for plenty of incredible defensive plays on the night, the Lakers star seemed to add another one to his tally after he appeared to have deflected the ball off of Edwards and out of bounds, keeping the score at 114-113 with plenty of time left on the clock to take back the lead. Instead, the Timberwolves challenged the call, had the out of bounds call overturned with a foul on James, and to top it all off, stripped the Lakers of their final timeout, which then prevented them from advancing the ball to the frontcourt on the final possession.

All James could do after the game is throw his hands up in the air and accept the outcome, even though he feels as though he and the Lakers were hard done by the officiating in the end.

“That play happens all the time. You know, hand is part of the ball, that's what they say. I feel like the hand was a part of the ball. I was able to get his hand on top of the ball, the ball stripped down, out on him. We've seen that play over and over before but, it is what it is,” James said in his postgame presser, via the official ClutchPoints account on X (formerly Twitter).

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LeBron James, Lakers on the brink of elimination

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) talks with a referee in the third quarter against the Minnesota Timberwolves during game four of first round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Target Center.
Mandatory Credit: Matt Blewett-Imagn Images

Because the Lakers have LeBron James and Luka Doncic, this series isn't over until the Timberwolves win a fourth game. But head coach JJ Redick has clearly lost a bit of trust in the team's supporting cast, as evidenced by the fact that he refused to make any substitutions in the second half of Game 4.

The Timberwolves are exposing the Lakers' lack of rim protection and lack of paint threat, and it's clear that the Purple and Gold will have to reshuffle the roster in the future regardless of whether or not they mount a 3-1 comeback.