Following the loss to the Golden State Warriors on Christmas Day, there has been much conversation surrounding how the final couple of minutes of the contest played out.
The bulk of this centered on the no call on what looked to be contact made by Warriors forward Kevin Durant on LeBron James during a drive to the basketball with 30 seconds left. Prior to Wednesday’s game against the Sacramento Kings, James voiced frustration with the explanation he received from the referees.
“For me, the worst thing was when I actually went over to talk to the ref and they said it was nothing. Like I go over and (say) ‘you didn’t see that. No, I didn’t think it was anything no call. No foul.’ That’s the worst for me. If he says I missed that one or maybe I wasn’t in the right position. But when you see the ref on the baseline looking at the whole play and you go up to him and he says no call multiple times in crunch time that’s the frustrating part. For me, it’s even more frustrating because I know how I’m officiated at times.”
What may have brought a stronger level of frustration is that the NBA released the last two-minute report that indicated that James was indeed fouled on that play in question. Not once, not twice, but three times by Kevin Durant in the final 1:12 of the game. It looked to be a clear call for the referees to make but wound being what sealed the loss for the Cavaliers.
That said, there is much credence to James stating that he is sometimes officiated differently than other players because of his size and strength that make it hard at times for opponents to truly deter him from driving to the rim. This along with the moment in the game that it occurred may have made harder for the referee to make the call.
Although it is a frustrating moment for James and the Cavaliers, it is something that all the team can do is move on from moving forward.