The Los Angeles Lakers escaped with their third straight victory on Friday night after squeaking out a 99-97 victory over former coach Luke Walton and the Sacramento Kings. A huge block by Anthony Davis appeared to be the most controversial play of the night as he made a little contact with Kings forward Harrison Barnes, but the NBA’s review of the last two minutes from Saturday found something else wrong with the end of the game.
According to the league, LeBron James should have been called for an offensive foul on what would be a game-winning foul call on Barnes with five seconds left. James would make both free-throws and win the game for the Lakers.
The NBA has focused in on offensive players initiating contact with their off-arm all season long, calling several players who use that move for offensive fouls. The Lakers certainly got a little lucky on Friday with the call considering how much they’ve tried to call it, but it’s also somewhat of an accepted truth that officials usually let things go in the closing moments of a game.
