The Los Angeles Lakers lost 119-115 to the Houston Rockets. In the final play of the game, with the Lakers down three, they had the ball on a side-out in the Rockets’ half. Before a pass was made to him, LeBron James tried getting the referees’ attention to call a timeout so they could regroup. However, the referees ignored him, and Fred VanVleet would steal the inbound, causing James to foul him and send him to the line.
LeBron James tried calling for a time out before the Lakers' costly clutch turnover against the Rockets 😲pic.twitter.com/GN6Y55sgBi
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) January 6, 2025
VanVleet would go on to make one of his two free throws, thus putting the game on ice and giving the Rockets the big win. LeBron and the Lakers will no doubt be frustrated that the referee missed the call, as it cost them a chance to tie the game and perhaps win the game in overtime. Given their 20-15 record, every win counts for the Lakers, and losing like this is going to sting.
It will be interesting to take a look at the L2M report that NBA officials release, and whether it will be acknowledged that the referees missed the call. Regardless of the acknowledgment, it is clear from the video above that the Lakers should have been allowed to take a timeout and regroup.
The Lakers did well in the second half to cut down what was at one point a 22-point lead for the Rockets. But they were never able to tie the game or take the lead against the Rockets, despite their best efforts. A tough night for the Lakers ended in the worst possible way.
Lakers fans were unsurprisingly very disappointed with the way the game played out. While the loss came down to bad luck at the end of it, the Lakers didn’t do themselves any favor with the way they started the game. The focus should now be on limiting turnovers in the future so they don’t face a similar scenario again.
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