The Dallas Mavericks picked up a double overtime win in Los Angeles on Thursday night. Thanks to a 35-point triple-double by Luka Doncic, Dallas knocked off the Lakers, 119-115, although it did not come without some controversy. On the final play of regulation, Lakers guard Troy Brown Jr. pulled up from three and got blocked by Tim Hardaway Jr., although Hardaway made contact with Brown’s hand after he got the ball.
As you can see, LeBron James was not happy with the situation, as he immediately went over to the officials and lobbied for them to call a foul that would have sent Brown to the line with a chance to win the game.
Tim Hardaway Jr. appears to foul Troy Brown Jr. on this 3-point attempt, but no call. Mavs-Lakers heads to OT.
Foul or no foul here?
pic.twitter.com/27i9YpIKSK
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“Hardaway Jr. gets a piece of the ball on the closeout and then does make some high-five contact, which is legal and that play was correctly no-called,” Josh Tiven, the crew chief working the game, told a pool reporter.
James, unsurprisingly, disagreed with this assessment. Brown was asked after the game about the no-call, and while he attempted to be a bit more diplomatic in his answer, James spoke up from where he was in the locker room to express his disappointment.
LeBron on the no-call on Troy Brown’s three attempt at the end of regulation: “It’s a f***** foul!” pic.twitter.com/SjFswVVHp5
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) January 13, 2023
“No, it’s a f*cking foul,” James said. “It’s a foul. No matter what TB says, it’s a f*cking foul.”
James is not the only person who disagreed with the no-call, as Lakers coach Darvin Ham told reporters after the game, “I’m not one to blame the officiating, and I won’t start now. But it just looked clear as day like it was a foul. Maybe I can be wrong. But we were still watching it after the game, and it looked like a foul on his follow-through.”