The Los Angeles Lakers appeared set to even the series with the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 4, but despite having a 10-point fourth quarter lead, the team ultimately lost.
While there are many reasons why the Lakers weren’t able to pull off the win, the officials didn’t make things easier. There were a number of questionable calls at the end of the game that helped tilt the scales in the Timberwolves’ favor.
There was one instance where Luka Doncic tripped and fell, which led to a turnover. Head coach JJ Redick believed that Doncic was tripped by Jaden McDaniels, which should’ve been a foul.
“Luka got tripped. That was a blatant trip. He doesn’t just fall on his own. We watched and he gets tripped. We should have been at the free-throw line, that’s not an excuse for why we lost, but he got fouled,” Redick said.
There was also a key call where LeBron James seemingly stripped Anthony Edwards of the ball, and he hit it out of bounds. The Timberwolves challenged the call and ended up calling a foul on James. The Lakers’ star didn’t agree with the call.
“That play happens all the time,” James said. “Hand is part ball of the ball, that’s what they say. I feel like the hand was part of that ball. I was able to get his hand on top of the ball, the ball stripped down and out on him. So I’ve seen that play over and over before, but it is what it is.”
Lakers Failed at the End of the Game
Even with all the calls going the wrong way, the Lakers did have a chance to at least tie the game at the end. A Doncic turnover and a missed Austin Reaves 3-pointer sealed the deal for Minnesota.
James liked the looks the team was getting, but they just couldn’t make it happen.
“We got some really good looks,” said James, who had another strong performance with 27 points, 12 rebounds, 8 assists, 3 steals and 3 blocks. “Luka [Doncic] missed a point-blank layup to put us up seven. I missed a point-blank layup to put us up four. We had a couple opportunities. I don’t think fatigue had anything to do with that. Just missing some point-blank shots, you know? We were getting into what we wanted to get into. We just weren’t able to convert.”
Lakers Not Blaming Fatigue for Loss
The Lakers clearly weren’t as effective at the end of the game. That may be because James, Doncic, Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura and Dorian Finney-Smith played the entire second half.
While Redick has faced criticism for not resting his players, Doncic doesn’t want to make that excuse.
“Fatigue shouldn’t play any role in this,” Doncic said. “I played a lot of minutes, but that shouldn’t play a role. I think they just executed better on the offensive end during the last minutes.”
In Redick’s defense, he put the decision in the hands of his players.
“I asked them at the beginning of the fourth quarter [how they were doing] and told them we had two extra timeouts,” Redick said. “‘If you need a sub, let us know.’ Those guys gave a lot.”
