Aside from being an intense battle of two historic franchises, the game between the Lakers and Celtics included a major controversy as the referees failed to call a foul against LeBron James which could have change the outcome of the game.
With 0.1 seconds left to play in the fourth quarter and the game being tied, James drove for a layup and was fouled by Jayson Tatum, but the officials did not call it, sending the game to overcome which was won by Boston.
Lakers legend James Worthy was very critical of the referees after the game, saying that this mistake, which was later acknowledged by the NBA, decided the outcome of the game.
“It’s pathetic and it’s embarrassing for the NBA referees because they’re really inconsistent with their calls,” Worthy said. “Darvin [Ham] is right – they call touchy calls with guys and LeBron gets hit a lot.
“And I’m not just saying that because I’m a Laker fan and I love LeBron, I’m looking at what everyone else is looking at. When I see it, it is what it is. It happens with other teams too. Other players get hit. It’s screwed the outcome of the game.”
Worthy also speculated that the egos of the referees might have gotten in in this game.
“That play with that referee standing out there looking at it, I don’t harp on refs too much because I know it’s a hard job, but that was not a hard thing to do,” he said.
“It almost seemed like their egos went in in this game. They need to check that. They need to check the refs, man. They sucked tonight.”
