The NBA in-season tournament has witnessed several heated confrontations and disagreements, especially from teams who are always on the detrimental side of receiving the perceived wrong calls from officials. This obvious situation was evident in one of the quarterfinal matches involving two heavy-weight franchises in the league.
However, as the saying goes “When two elephants are fighting, the grass suffers”, the Phoenix Suns were left heartbroken when the NBA refs’ decision handed the LA Lakers a late opportunity to seal their victory over the Suns, leaving the fans and enthusiasts seeking for an explanation over the late timeout drama.
Why did the NBA referee award last second timeout to the Lakers?
The Los Angeles Lakers secured their place in the In-Season Tournament semifinals in Las Vegas by defeating the Phoenix Suns 106-103 in Tuesday’s quarterfinal. However, the victory was not without a bit of controversy. With a narrow 105-103 lead and 11.2 seconds left in the fourth quarter, the Lakers faced a crucial moment.
In a tense inbound play, LeBron James passed the ball to Austin Reaves, who found himself closely guarded by Devin Booker. Booker’s pressure led to a moment of uncertainty as Reaves struggled to control the ball, and Kevin Durant joined the battle. As the ball slipped away, it rolled towards Grayson Allen, putting the Suns in a potential position to tie the game.
Quick thinking by LeBron James saved the day for the Lakers, as he wisely called a timeout to retain possession. Despite the Lakers’ relief, a controversial call followed, with the referee signaling a timeout during the ball scramble. Devin Booker expressed disbelief, arguing that Reaves barely had control when the timeout was called.
However, the Lakers took the advantage to seal a trip to face the New Orleans Pelicans in the next face of the NBA in-season competition, prompting many fans and enthusiasts to call out the NBA refs’ decision for making the controversial timeout.
Tiven explains NBA refs’ controversial call
The Tuesday evening game between the Phoenix Suns and the Los Angeles Lakers closed with a score of 106-103. The Lakers secured a narrow victory over the Suns, thus eliminating them from the In-Season Tournament. The match ended dramatically, with the Lakers benefitting from the late timeout call to retain possession of what appeared to be a loose ball.
Following the game, Jovan Buha, a pool reporter from The Athletic, questioned crew chief Josh Tiven about the incident, and he maintained the validity of the call. Josh Tiven, heading the three-man officiating crew during the Lakers-Suns game, presented a pool report addressing the decision to grant the Lakers a timeout with 7.4 seconds remaining and a two-point lead,
“During live play the official felt that LA still had possession of the ball when LeBron James requested the timeout. Through postgame video review in slow motion replay, we did see that Austin Reaves had his left hand on the ball while it’s pinned against his left leg, which does constitute control.”
Although the timeout call by the referee seemed controversial, the explanation given by Josh Tiven settled fans’ and enthusiasts’ curiosity over the controversial timeout that afforded the Lakers the chance to play in the semifinal in the ongoing NBA competition at the expense of the Suns.
