LOS ANGELES — In the background of a postgame locker room, live television interview with the Lakers’ Troy Brown Thursday night — an interview where he dodges a question (and a fine from the league) about whether he was fouled on the final shot of regulation — LeBron James can be heard in the background saying “it was a foul.”
The NBA says it was not a foul. However, in the league’s Two Minute Report they say that LeBron was fouled by Christian Wood at the end of the first overtime and should have been given free throws that might have changed the outcome of a game the Mavericks won in a second OT.
This is the foul on Brown, of which the NBA says: “Hardaway Jr. (DAL) legally contests Brown Jr.’s (LAL) jump shot attempt and makes contact with the ball. Any “high-five” contact is considered incidental.”
The game went to overtime, and eventually went to a second but, not until Christian Wook had a critical block on a LeBron shot — a shot the Last Two Minute Report says was a foul: “Wood (DAL) initiates contact to James’ (LAL) left arm before blocking the shot, and the illegal contact affects his shot attempt.”
If there was one thing Luka Doncic and LeBron could agree on — that Lakers and Mavericks fans can agree on — it is that the officiating crew had a rough night. The Last Two Minute report found six other missed or incorrect calls in the final two minutes of regulation and the overtimes. Frankly, the first 46 minutes were worse. In the building, you could feel the tensions rise with both LeBron and Doncic getting frustrated, Darvin Ham and Jason Kidd growing frustrated, and the kind of missed calls that had the media on press row looking at each other confused.
Having a Two Minute Report is the right thing to do, it’s a needed bit of transparency. But that’s no comfort to the Lakers and Mavericks after a game like that.
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NBA Two-Minute Report says Lakers’ Troy Brown was not fouled, but LeBron was originally appeared on NBCSports.com
