LeBron James taunts Jayson Tatum following controversial no-call: "Good block Jayson Tatum"
LA Lakers star LeBron James hasn't gotten past the controversial no-call during the team's 125-121 OT loss against Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics. Tatum fouled James at the end of regulation when the scores were tied 105-105.
The illegal contact led to James missing the layup on the last play. The Lakers' All-Star forward would've made the trip to the foul line to shoot a pair had the referees called the foul on Tatum. James only had to convert one of two shots to seal the win, as there was barely a second left in the game.
After questioning the recent no-call controversies against him and the LA Lakers, LeBron James taunted Jayson Tatum on Instagram. James posted a story about the play and captioned it:
"Good block Jayson Tatum."
Here's a snippet of LeBron's Instagram story (via Talkin' NBA):
"Good block Jayson Tatum."
LeBron James' IG story π
#NBATwitter https://t.co/BLWxcGhWVx
James seemed furious after the game. He posed the question indirectly to the officials about what more he needed to do to get calls going his way. Here's what he said:
"It's challenging, really challenging. I don't get it. I'm attacking the paint just as much as any of the other guys in this league shooting double-digit free throws a night. I don't get it. I don't understand it."
LeBron James averages 9.8 drives per game but only receives about two free-throw attempts on those drives. James is averaging 6.2 free-throw attempts per game, ranking 22nd in the league. It's a surprising stat because James does attack the paint quite often, running through tight defensive coverage.
Rookies Paolo Banchero and Bennedict Mathurin are also averaging more free-throw attempts per game than the four-time MVP while averaging the same amount of drives or fewer.
Jayson Tatum responds to LeBron James
Jayson Tatum reviewed the final play of the regulation during the LA Lakers-Boston Celtics game, saying the last two minutes and overtime was a "blur." Tatum played it safe with his comments as he knew the referees missed a call.
The All-Star forward maintained his stance when LeBron James posted a story of the possession and tagged him. Tatum reposted the Instagram story, captioning it:
"Last night was blur... good game champ."
LeBron and Jayson Tatum on IG. https://t.co/NVz9keesZg
Tatum and James share a friendly equation off the court. However, it might take some time for LeBron to move on from what happened. The LA Lakers remain in the hunt to achieve a top six or top 10 seeding but are struggling to move up the standings with some of these controversial losses.
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It doesn't come as a surprise that temperatures are indeed flaring in Lakerland after the team was deprived of another wrong call in a late-game situation that ended in a loss.