LeBron James helped the Los Angeles Lakers get back into the win column Tuesday night by beating the New York Knicks in overtime at Madison Square Garden.
And James was clearly thankful that the officials didn't stand in his way this time.
Three nights prior against the Celtics, James was at the center of a blown call during his potential game-winning layup attempt as time expired in regulation. After James stormed around the court pleading for a call and Patrick Beverley tried to show an official a picture of the play, the Lakers fell to the Celtics in the extra frame leaving them feeling that they were "cheated."
So after defeating the Knicks in a tightly contested battle, James used the moment to take another dig at the Celtics and the referees.
"The difference between here and Boston is obviously self explanatory," James told reporters following the contest as transcribed by MassLive's Brian Robb. "We were up six and had an opportunity to make some plays. They made plays, Jalen Brunson took a charge, we got a stop. The game was decided by the players, in Boston the game was decided by the refs. It was more demoralizing. We tried to but what happened in Boston was what happened."
The NBA almost immediately owned their mistake with the crew chief in the Celtics-Lakers game admitting the officials "missed" Jayson Tatum whacking James on the arm as he tried to get off his shot.
Tatum ended up playing coy about the whole situation, calling the final minutes of the game a "blur."
But the missed call certainly seems to keep on burning bright in James' mind and is something that he soon won't forget.
