BOSTON — Los Angeles Lakers star Anthony Davis saw what nearly everyone else did, except for the officials on the floor, at the end of regulation against the Boston Celtics on Saturday night.
With the game tied, LeBron James was blatantly fouled on the forearm by Jayson Tatum during a layup attempt as time expired, but no whistle blew. It left James and the rest of the Lakers incredulous that a foul wasn’t call. Even Patrick Beverley made an insane plea to the referees to try to reverse the decision.
But the call was already cemented and the Celtics went on to win, 125-121, in overtime at TD Garden, leaving Davis to vent his frustrations about the lack of a call at such a pivotal moment after a frustrating defeat.
“Foul, clearly. It’s (expletive),” Davis told reporters, per video from The Athletic’s Jovan Buha. “At the end of the day, it’s unacceptable and I guarantee nothing will happen to the refs. We got cheated tonight, honestly.”
Davis and the Lakers certainly have a case, especially after crew chief Eric Lewis admitted in the pool report the officials “missed” the call.
Lakers coach Darvin Ham didn’t have any challenges left to try to get the referees to conduct a video review of the play. Ham had already successfully challenge a call earlier in the fourth quarter.
Ham would be fine with a rule change that would have left him with another challenge since he was successful on the first one. But he was rendered into nothing more than a bystander in that moment and was left wondering how James didn’t get the benefit of doubt.
“As much as we try not to put it on officiating, it’s becoming increasingly difficult,” Ham said. “…It’s unfortunate the game ends on a play like that. You don’t ask for favoritism, you just ask for consistency. That’s it.”
Ham added: “The best player on the Earth can’t get a call. It’s amazing.”
