In a hilarious fashion, the Sacramento Kings are victims once again of an unfortunate, unexpected event.
In what could be a crucial possession which they could use to trim the Los Angeles Lakers’ deficit in the dying seconds of their match on Wednesday, game officials mysteriously called a jump ball after the ball was left untouched by De’Aaron Fox upon Malik Monk’s miss from the charity stripe. While on the deadball, it was seen that there were few tenths being diminished – one of the possible main motives of the officials’ decision – which flipped things around in a controversial way.
Obviously, interim coach Alvin Gentry was fuming while arguing from the sidelines about the ridiculous decision.
And in his postgame media availability, Gentry didn’t vent his frustration against the referees, but he instead directed it on the NBA’s rule book.
“It’s a horseshit rule in the NBA,” Gentry said, via Greg Beacham of the Associated Press. “The referees did what they were supposed to do. It’s the rule that needs to be changed. We didn’t start the clock. It wasn’t our error. We got punished for a dumbass rule.”
“There’s no way in hell that that ball shouldn’t have been in our possession.”
Meanwhile, the NBA Twitter world has been sympathizing with Gentry and the Kings after the controversial call. Indeed, it was a controversial scenario and the rule is now a major subject for scrutiny.
Way back in 2018, the Lakers and the Orlando Magic were in an almost similar situation. Forward Mario Hezonja gave a lob pass to teammate Aaron Gordon to try to give the Magic the upper hand, as the Purple and Gold were leading (108-107) with 0.6 remaining in the 4th period. Suddenly before even Gordon touched the ball, L. A.’s clock operator pushed the button which burned the remaining tenths of a second that resulted from the buzzer and a wild conclusion that the Lakers had won. Due to what happened, officials overturned and decided for a jump ball since the shot clock shouldn’t have been turned on while on the dead ball. Eventually, the Lakers prevailed, which sparked a huge disappointment in the Orlando camp.
The Kings gained its 23rd loss this season, while the Lakers are firmly holding the 7th spot in the West with an improved 20-19 record. The two California-based ball clubs are scheduled for another marquee showdown on Jan. 13.
