NBA Game Marred by Game Reviews and Shot Clock Malfunction

LOS ANGELES — The final two minutes of the game clock in the Golden State Warriors’ 128-121 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday night took more than 20 minutes of real time to play out thanks to a series of game reviews. repetition and shot clock malfunction.

The delays began with 1:50 left in the fourth quarter, with the Lakers trailing 124-120, when Los Angeles coach Darvin Ham challenged an off-field call that awarded possession to the Warriors, while Los Angeles center the Lakers, Jaxson Hayesand the Golden State forward, Andrew Wigginsboth went for the rebound.

LeBron James of the Lakers watches during a timeout as officials try to fix the shot clock in the second half of a game against the Warriors at Crypto.com Arena on March 16, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images

While the referees were reviewing the off-field call, they determined that the corner three-pointer that LeBron James scored on the previous trip down the court with 2:07 remaining did not count.

The Lakers ended up winning the challenge (Hayes and Wiggins faced off for a jump ball) but lost points in the process.

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“I’ve never seen a decision like that before, at that particular moment,” said James, who finished with 40 points, 9 assists and 8 rebounds. “That was a little strange. … It took away some of our momentum.”

The ruling was eerily similar to one from a December game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, in which a late 3-pointer by James that would have tied the score was downgraded to a two-point shot after review. Just like that night, James disagreed with Saturday’s decision.

“Obviously I didn’t think I stepped over the line,” James said Saturday. “I knew how much space I had there. And when I shoot, I shoot on my toes, so it’s a little hard for me to have my heel on the ground.”

Crew chief David Guthrie explained the ruling in a postgame statement to a member of the media.

“James’ left foot is out of bounds when he starts shooting,” Guthrie said. “Yes, it is reviewable at that time. The rule is Rule 13, Section II(f)(3): If the shooter committed a boundary line violation, the replay center official will only observe the position of the shooter’s feet. player at the moment they touch the ground immediately before releasing the shot. This can also apply during other replay activations.”

While the blown 3-pointer helped his team, Warriors coach Steve Kerr said he would prefer to live without the miss.

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Monday March 18
• Heat at Sixers, 7:30 p.m. ET
• Knicks at Warriors, 10 p.m. ET

Wednesday 20 March
• Bucks at Celtics, 7:30 p.m. ET
• Grizzlies at Warriors, 10 p.m

“I also don’t like the rule that you can go back and look at an out of bounds, or LeBron’s 3-pointer,” Kerr said. “That seems to happen once or twice a year. I’d love for that rule to go away. I think we’re trying too hard to get everything right, at the expense of flow. Who cares if a guy’s foot is half an inch in line? Is it worth going back 45 seconds and changing everything, with the unintended consequences? Not my favorite rule, for sure.”

James, however, defended the spirit of the replay rules.

“At the end of the day, you just want to do well,” James said. “So, it’s unfortunate what happened. But obviously you have to try to do it right. And our team has a job to do — that’s the referees — they have a job to do, and they have to do it the best way they can.” They can. So, everything is fine.”

With the score back at 124-117 after James’ three-pointer was disallowed, Wiggins won the jump ball and sent in Draymond Greenwho tried to corral the ball near the baseline.

While James was penalized for the heel of his shoe allegedly touching the out-of-bounds sideline, the Lakers believed the toe of Green’s shoe did the same on the baseline with 1:48 remaining. Ham then used another coaching challenge.

After another review, the referees ruled that Green was out of bounds and LA was given possession back. The Lakers inbounded the ball, but the referees quickly blew their whistles and noticed that the shot clock was not working properly. After the referees conferred with the scoreboard operators at center court, LA was given the ball to go in again and, once again, the shot clock failed after the Lakers shot it.

Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck sat courtside with his son Samuel at the Lakers vs. Warriors game… and Sam even got to meet Steph Curry! 🏀🥰 pic.twitter.com/vO6wmKbF30

— ExtraTV (@extratv) March 17, 2024

The false start occurred four times in a row, drawing increasingly louder boos with each delay. The ABC broadcast even showed actor-director Ben Affleck, sitting courtside with Jennifer Lopez, slumped in her chair, unable to hide his impatience. ABC cameras also caught James shaking his head and laughing at the prolonged pause in the action when he said, “I’m too old for this s—.”

Finally, Crypto.com Arena public address announcer Lawrence Tanter informed the crowd that he would be counting down the shot clock over the arena speakers in order to resume play.

After all that, Los Angeles got the ball and James the Warriors star, Stephen Curry (31 points), took the ball away, leading to an alley-oop dunk by Jonathan Kuminga (23 points) and put Golden State up 126-117 with 1:07 left.

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“It was strange,” Kerr said. “It seems like a few times a year you have clock issues. That’s the most extreme thing I’ve ever seen where the backup unit doesn’t work either. It’s unfortunate. I felt bad for the fans. It was a great game, and then during the last two minutes, everyone is looking at each other wondering what to do.

Several Lakers players noted that the shot clock had a problem during a Warriors possession with 10:53 left in the fourth quarter, when the countdown from 10 to 9 was reset to 24 and the game continued, with Trayce Jackson-Davis ending the possession by hitting a hook shot with 10:38 left to put Golden State up 104-96.

“They didn’t take points because the clock didn’t work,” Ham said. “They continued to play. But it is what it is.”

That sequence was also mentioned in the group’s postgame report.

“The shot clock failed during the live game at that time, and that is not a reviewable matter,” Guthrie said in a statement, adding that it was the responsibility of the officiating team to notice the discrepancy at the time, and they did not.

Los Angeles entered the night with a one-game lead over Golden State at No. 9 in the Western Conference standings. With Saturday’s result, the teams swapped positions, with the Lakers now in 10th place with 14 games left.

“It’s going to take everything to get some wins,” the Lakers guard said. D’Angelo Russell (23 points, 13 assists). “This time of year, they all matter.”

ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne contributed to this report.

2024-03-17 17:45:55
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