NBA officials letting Lakers get away with blatant 8-second violation leaves internet fuming

The Los Angeles Lakers were not called for a blatant 8-second violation against the Golden State Warriors in the NBA.

NBA officials letting Lakers get away with blatant 8-second violation leaves internet fuming

LeBron James (Lakers) against Stephen Curry (Warriors)

The Los Angeles Lakers handily defeated the Golden State Warriors on Thursday. The Lakers lead for almost the entire game, ballooning their largest lead to 26 points in the 2nd quarter. Ultimately, the loss margin for the Dubs came down to only 8 points after they mounted a second-half comeback. However, with the game entering its final phase, a controversial missed call for the Lakers set the internet ablaze.

With just under a minute left in the game, Golden State found itself down just 6 points having whittled the Lakers lead away. As the Warriors applied a full-court press on LA in the backcourt, Lakers guard Gabe Vincent found himself trapped before the half line. He finally released a pass to LeBron James but the shot clock was already down to 15-seconds, which should have prompted an 8-second violation.

YouTube video

However, lead officials John Goble and Marat Kogut failed to spot the violation despite a furious Warriors outburst requesting for a whistle. The possession ultimately led to an open dunk for Rui Hachimura, allowing the Lakers hover the lead back up to eight points from the Dubs.

FS Video

The missed call came at a crucial time as the Warriors had brought the game within 2 possessions with a Stephen Curry three. Curry, who had just 18 points coming into the 4th quarter, put up 19 points in the final period. A whistle to call the violation on the Lakers would have given Golden State just over 50 seconds to bring the game within a single possession, leading to the outrage from the Dubs.

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As the game wound to a close, with the Lakers taking home a 120-112 victory over the Warriors, fans on the internet were left furious by the referees. Had the officials not failed to notice the violation, Golden State may have stood a chance at closing down the lead. Fans on social media blasted the referees and immediately resorted to calling out the bias in refereeing on Thursday.

This wasn’t the only time the Warriors were left irate by missed calls. Throughout the game, Stephen Curry and Golden State attacked the rim expecting a whistle, but were unable to get one. On the night, the Warriors attempted 20 free throws, 16 short of the Lakers 36 free throw attempts.

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With both team’s scoring nearly equal points in the paint (Warriors 48, Lakers 50), the Dubs were disturbed to not find the whistle more often. The missed violation called out by the players on the court and the commentators on the broadcast, only added to the Warriors’ frustrations on a difficult night for the entire team.