LeBron James was stunned.

LeBron James (Lakers) as the frustrated cricket fan meme

,Los Angeles Lakers superstar forward LeBron James was left just as incredulous and angry as the Boston Celtics over the wild ending of a game between the Jayson Tatum-less Celtics and the Indiana Pacers Monday night. The four-time league Most Valuable Player did not hold back in expressing his true feelings about what he perceived as pure incompetence on the part of the referees in the Celtics-Pacers matchup.

“See what I’m saying! 🤦🏾‍♂️. JB clearly got hit in the back of the head. They reviewed the play, just to reverse it and say he didn’t. MAN WHAT!! Good a** game to have an ending like that. And yall see why I be going 🦍 💩 out there when it happen,” the Lakers star said in a post on X.

The Celtics and their fans feel as though a win was stolen from them. With the score even at 131-131, in the dying moments of regulation, Boston star Jaylen Brown attacked through the baseline, and the refs called a foul on Buddy Hield with just 3.2 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.

After the Pacers challenged the call, the officials overturned the original foul call, and Indiana got the ball back. Bennedict Mathurin played the hero for Indiana by drilling two of three attempts from the foul line after the Celtics fouled him behind the arc in the ensuing possession, giving Indiana the 133-131 victory.

LeBron James saw all that and thought it was another clear example of what’s wrong with the review process in the NBA. It is not uncommon to see James get heated at the refs after missed calls and questionable whistles by refs, and he probably experienced some second-hand frustration from the crazy conclusion of the Celtics-Pacers contest.

 

Perhaps most Lakers fans will never sympathize with the Celtics and will gladly celebrate a Boston loss whichever way it happens, but there’s some weight in James’ criticism of the way the refs handled this game.

In any case, the future Hall of Famer and the Lakers will get back to work Tuesday night against the Toronto Raptors at home following a 106-103 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers last Sunday.