Vince Lombardi, the legendary NFL coach, once said, “football is a game of inches, and inches make the champion.” The same could be said of basketball.
If basketball is also a game of inches, Saturday’s contest between the Los Angeles Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves may have been a game of micrometers.
Near the end of the contest, with the Lakers down by three points, they appeared to get a game-tying 3-pointer from LeBron James. But the shot was ruled a 2-pointer live, and a subsequent review confirmed that call. James protested, but L.A. ended up losing 108-106.
Throughout X, formerly Twitter, fans dissected that shot and the resulting officiating decision, and they had a range of reactions.
LEBRON & THE LAKERS GOT ROBBED IN 4K
😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭pic.twitter.com/rYYOFQLmsk
— G.Multani (@geemultani24) December 31, 2023
Honestly, that was a three-pointer. LeBron was robbed in last night's game!
— Dont Stop Production (@DontStopProdAI) December 31, 2023
Honestly, it was a two pointer
— Erin Lee (@ErinBlueLee) December 31, 2023
He didn’t, even though I’m a lebron and a laker fan, when he titled his toe, his big toe hit the line, so they did not got robbed.
— Sky Silvestre (@SkyIsAGoodBoy) December 31, 2023
Lakers camera meme from last year just got a sequel pic.twitter.com/Eq7c09SbtL
— 𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒆 🌩 (@Three_Cone) December 31, 2023
NBA REFS ROBBED THE LAKERS pic.twitter.com/2gOBYmRJGw
— Lakers Empire (@LakersEmpire) December 31, 2023
Looked like LeBron barely kept his foot behind the line on a tying three … that was ruled a two. Refs ruled as he went up and pressed down on his foot for lift, and it turned sideways, his toe pushed barely onto the line.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) December 31, 2023
That’s a 3 , Ref always cheating the Lakers pic.twitter.com/hUwGQsImh7
— TrellJSports (@TrellJSports) December 31, 2023
Biggest sequence of the game. Lakers were never able to take the lead in the fourth. Had a chance to here but LeBron doesn't get the call.
Replay shows he clearly gets hit in the head on the drive. pic.twitter.com/ksIQrriZS0
— Raj C. (@RajChipalu) December 31, 2023
The angle Lakers fans show you vs reality. pic.twitter.com/ItnewsDvX2
— Wolf Den (@MNWolfDen) December 31, 2023
At the end of the day, it was too close to overturn.
What a game.
— Wolf Den (@MNWolfDen) December 31, 2023
