It was clear to LeBron James.
He couldn’t believe it wasn’t clear to the referees as well.
James, on his 39th birthday, drilled what would have been a game-tying 3-pointer in the final seconds of the Lakers’ 108-106 loss to the Timberwolves Saturday night, but it was ruled on the court as a 2-pointer and that James’ toe was on the line.
It would have tied that game at 107 apiece with 2.3 seconds left if it was ruled a 3-pointer.
Officials reviewed it during a subsequent timeout, and James went ballistic that they didn’t see what he saw.
He stormed over to the monitor and animatedly pointed at the screen as it showed a replay of the play, attempting to point out that his toe was behind the line.
But he was unsuccessful, as the call on the floor stood as a 2-pointer.
“What the hell do we got replay for?” James said after the game. “What do we have replay for if even the replay gets it wrong? It’s just like, who is a part of the replay center? Like, do we got robots in there making Teslas? Like, what’s going on?”
“I mean, it’s obvious it’s a three. My foot was behind the line. You can see the space between the front of my foot and the 3-point line. You can clearly see the wood on the floor, the space in between the front of my foot and the 3-point line. Stevie Wonder can see that, champ.”
James finished with 26 points, six assists and three rebounds, and the Lakers fell to 17-16.
Crew chief Tony Brothers explained the decision after the game.
“The play was ruled a 2-point field goal on the floor during live play,” Brothers said to the pool reporter. “After video review, there wasn’t clear and conclusive evidence to overturn it from a 2 to a 3, and that’s why it stood as a 2-point field goal.”
