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| LeBron James rants at NBA |
LeBron James was visibly agitated after the Los Angeles Lakers squandered a crucial opportunity.
His frustration wasn't solely about letting a 20-point lead slip away, missing a late 3-pointer that could have sealed the game, or witnessing Jamal Murray's buzzer-beater steal victory for the Denver Nuggets in Game 2 of their first-round series on Monday night.
Instead, James' ire was directed towards the NBA's replay center in Secaucus, New Jersey. The tipping point for him was the overturning of a second-half foul call on Michael Porter Jr., with the league ruling that Porter had only made slight contact on D'Angelo Russell.
“I don’t understand what’s happening in the replay center, to be honest,” said James, as the Lakers head back to Los Angeles trailing 2-0 in the series. “D-Lo clearly gets hit in the face on the drive. Why do we even have a replay center if ... it doesn’t make sense. It makes no sense. It bothers me.”
James, usually expansive in postgame interviews, was more succinct after the Lakers saw their lead crumble and Murray sink the game-winner over Anthony Davis.
Reflecting on his missed opportunity to give the Lakers the lead with an open 3-pointer, James simply said, “Rimmed out,” despite his strong performance of 26 points and 12 assists.
Here are James' thoughts on the game and the challenges ahead:
— On Denver's comeback in the fourth quarter: “We missed shots. We still got great looks and we just missed them. And they made it.”
— On D'Angelo Russell's impressive shooting after a tough start to the series: "We never lost confidence in him. D-Lo is D-Lo.”
— On what the Lakers can take from this game heading into Game 3 in L.A.: “Every game is its own challenge."
— On dealing with the emotional impact of a heartbreaking loss: “Of course it’s a heartbreaking game and you don't want to lose in that fashion."
James' frustration with the replay center boiled over due to earlier calls in the game and a controversial finish in another matchup earlier that evening. He questioned the decisions made and left the interview expressing disbelief about the situation.
LeBron James rants at NBA's replay center for calls after Lakers' buzzer-beating defeat in Denver