The Los Angeles Lakers‘ 116-113 Game 4 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves became doubly painful after the NBA Last 2 Minute report admitted a missed call in the closing moments.
According to the Last 2 Minute report, there should have been a foul against Minnesota forward Jaden McDaniels, who tripped Lakers star Luka Dončić with 35.5 seconds left.
“McDaniels (MIN) steps forward into Dončić’s (LAL) path, initiating illegal foot contact that causes him to lose his balance,” the L2M report said.
Had the foul been called, Dončić would have shot two free throws while the Lakers were trailing 114-113. With the referees missing the call, Dončić was forced to call one of the last two Lakers’ timeouts.
Worse, they had a turnover in the inbound play coming off that timeout, which preserved the Timberwolves’ lead.
The Last 2 Minute report vindicated Lakers coach JJ Redick and Dončić.
“I mean, that was a blatant trip,” Redick told reporters after the loss. “He doesn’t just fall on his own. We rewatched it. He gets tripped. So we should have been at the free-throw line.”
“I think I got tripped for sure,” Dončić told reporters.
However, it’s too late as the Timberwolves took the pivotal win and a commanding 3-1 series lead.
Lebron’s Foul on Edwards Was ‘Correct Call’
After McDaniels stole the inbound pass, Lakers star LeBron James thought he forced a turnover when he tapped the ball off Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards with 11 seconds left.
Initially, the referees called a Minnesota turnover and awarded the possession to the Lakers for a chance to go for a win. However, the Timberwolves challenged the call and it was overturned.
The video replay showed James tapped Edwards’ hand which led to him losing control of the ball out of bounds. The referees called a foul on James, which the Last 2 Minute report upheld.
“Replay review of the out of bounds call pursuant to a coach’s challenge was deemed successful. James (LAL) makes illegal contact to Edwards’ (MIN) left wrist and the foul is proximate to the ball going out of bounds. Play resumes with Edwards receiving two free throws,” the L2M report said.
“That play happens all the time,” James told reporters after the loss. “Hand is a part of the ball. That’s what they say. I felt like the hand was a part of that ball. I was able to get his hand on top of that ball. The ball stripped out on him. Seen that play over and over before, but it is what it is.”
The NBA disagreed.
JJ Redick’s Second-Half Decision Criticized
Redick’s decision to play Dončić, James, Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura and Dorian Finney-Smith for the entire second half came under fire.
Lakers legend Earvin “Magic” Johnson led the critics.
“I dont know if it smart to play LeBron and Luka the entire second half after only having one day of rest between Games 3 and 4,” Johnson wrote on X. “When we needed LeBron to take over in the fourth quarter he couldn’t – he scored 0 points in the fourth.”
The Lakers lost steam, squandering a 10-point lead at the start of the fourth quarter.
Edwards unloaded 16 of his game-high 43 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Timberwolves comeback.
“I felt like they were gassed going down the stretch,” Edwards told reporters. “So just trying to keep my foot on the pedal and keep going.”
