LeBron James was furious after the Los Angeles Lakers squandered a golden opportunity in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series against the Denver Nuggets on Monday night. While the Lakers’ 20-point lead evaporating, James’ late missed 3-pointer, and Jamal Murray’s game-winning buzzer-beater were all contributing factors to the Lakers’ loss, James’ primary source of frustration stemmed from the NBA’s replay center in Secaucus, New Jersey.
James was particularly incensed by the overturned foul on Michael Porter Jr. in the second half, with the league claiming MPJ made only marginal contact on D’Angelo Russell. “I don’t understand what’s going on in the replay center, to be honest,” said James, whose team now faces a 2-0 deficit heading into Game 3 in Los Angeles on Thursday. “D-Lo clearly gets hit in the face on the drive. What the (expletive) do we have a replay center … it doesn’t make sense. It makes no sense. It bothers me.”
James went on to criticize the replay center’s decision to overturn a foul call on Murray earlier in the game and the failure to overturn a foul call against Maxey in an earlier game between the Knicks and 76ers. “What are we doing?” James asked in exasperation.
Despite the Lakers’ struggles, James remained confident in his team’s ability to bounce back. “Every game is its own challenge,” he said. “We missed shots. We still got great looks and we just missed them. And they made it.”
The Lakers will have an opportunity to even the series when they host the Nuggets in Game 3 on Thursday night.
