The OKC Thunder and LA Lakers were involved in a thriller Monday night, with the defending champions pulling away late for a 119-110 victory. The contest turned physical, and although no fights broke out on a night when brawls were frequent around the league, several debatable calls and missed whistles became talking points.
Lakers fans felt they were on the wrong side of the officiating, especially with every possession mattering as the fourth quarter turned into a clutch-time battle with the margin staying within single digits.
Lakers Fans Infuriated At Refs After Series of Questionable Calls vs. Thunder
One pivotal moment came in the fourth quarter when Cason Wallace appeared to dribble the ball out of bounds on a possession that still resulted in a Thunder basket.
JJ Redick was also forced to burn his final coach’s challenge after the ball clearly went off Isaiah Hartenstein late in the fourth quarter, while other rulings also favored Oklahoma City, including a double lane violation called in the final period.
“These REFS what da f**k!!!! We had to burn a challenge for an obvious play out on OKC 🤦🏾♂️🤦🏾♂️🤦🏾♂️🤦🏾♂️,” one fan said.
“The Lakers had to burn their final challenge on the most obvious missed call you’ll ever see,” Lakers Nation’s Daniel Starkand said.
Even Thunder media member Rylan Stiles pointed out officiating decisions that hurt the Lakers.
“The Lakers having to challenge the out of bounds call was just horrific and not realizing the ball hit the rim on the Chet put back was bad too but man the Lakers one was rough,” he tweeted.
“Bad night in the office for the crew, horrible that the Lakers needed to challenge that with their last remaining,” he added.
Here are additional reactions to the game.
The Thunder attempted 29 free throws in the game, six more than the Lakers. Seven Oklahoma City players finished in double figures, led by Jalen Williams with 23 points in his return, bench sharpshooter Isaiah Joe with 19, and former Laker Alex Caruso, who scored 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting and posted a game-high plus-19 rating.
For the Lakers, LeBron James scored 22 points, Marcus Smart added 19, and Austin Reaves chipped in 16 off the bench.
The win lifted the Thunder to 41-13 on the season, while the Lakers dropped to 32-20. Los Angeles will next face the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday.
