Austin Reaves and LeBron James had an intense confrontation with the referees at the end of the Los Angeles Lakers’ 125-107 Game 2 loss to the OKC Thunder. The Lakers felt wronged by the officials on several plays. Reaves and James, in particular, got the worst of it. They had several non-calls at the rim and were also snubbed off shooting fouls that also left commentators scratching their heads.
The issues started early in the game when Reaves got hacked on consecutive possessions, but the referees didn’t blow the whistle. JJ Redick had to call a timeout during which he got into a heated interaction with crew chief Ben Taylor, who issued the Lakers coach a technical foul.
The whistle seemed balanced for most of the game until Shai Gilgeous-Alexander got called for his fourth foul and a flagrant for a hard foul against Austin Reaves. After that point, the officiating seemingly favored OKC more, leaving LeBron James and the Lakers fuming over every decision.
Lakers fans were just as spirited as Austin Reaves and LeBron James were at the end of the game when they confronted the refs. Here’s how they reacted to the officiating:
“Most rigged series ever,” a fan said.
“Watch Austin Reaves, LeBron James & most of the Lakers get fined a day later lmfao. These refs wanna fine people and shi when they get called out for cheating and being biased lmfao. OKC got the refs in their pocket.. it’s painfully obvious to everyone,” one fan complained.
“GOOD!!! It was horrid tonight. About time something was said,” one fan vouched for the Lakers stars.
“Thunder are just better, but the refs were absolutely atrocious and need some accountability,” another added.
Even a non-Laker fan joined in on the criticism of the refs, saying:
“I have no dog in the fight but that game was unwatchable”
Austin Reaves called referee John Goble a “pu**y” during another heated exchange
Austin Reaves had multiple exchanges with the refs. While not all of his interactions were as clear, a courtside angle caught one of his conversations with referee John Goble. Reaves lost his temper after Goble seemingly upset him during the argument. Here’s what the Lakers guard said to the official:
“That’s some bullsh*t for you to talk to me like that! P**y”
Austin Reaves had to be held back by Luka Doncic and other Lakers players as he kept charging towards Goble.
JJ Redick also didn’t hold back on the refs in his post-game interview, saying that the Thunder had players who were fouling on every whistle. He claimed that LeBron James had the worst whistle of any star, while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander kept benefitting from touch fouls.
The Thunder finished the game with 26 free throw attempts, while the Lakers had 21. The Lakers were called for 26 fouls while the Thunder had 21. On paper, the margin didn’t seem as decisive, but during the game, it swung the momentum in OKC’s favor several times.
