The fallout from the Los Angeles Lakers’ overtime loss to the Boston Celtics on Saturday continued Sunday with a statement from the National Basketball Referees Association on its official Twitter account.
“Like everyone else, referees make mistakes,” the union wrote in its tweet. “We made one at the end of last night’s game and that is gut-wrenching for us. This play will weigh heavily and cause sleepless nights as we strive to be the best referees we can be.”
After LA’s 125-121 OT loss to the Celtics, the crew chief for the game, Eric Lewis, said the referees should have called Jayson Tatum for a shooting foul on LeBron James’ last-second layup attempt. James would have gone to the line with a chance to win the game with the score tied 105-105.
“We got cheated tonight, honestly. … It’s unacceptable,” Lakers forward Anthony Davis said after the game.
The NBA has not released its Last Two Minutes Report for the game. However, Lakers coach Darvin Ham said the league can save itself the effort.
“I don’t want to see another two-minute report,” Ham said. “They can save that. It does no one any good.”
Saturday’s game marked at least the fourth time in recent weeks that the Lakers believed a late-game call went against them in what became a loss.
“I don’t see it happening to anyone else,” James said. “It’s just weird.”
The Associated Press contributed to this story.