LA’s loss to Phoenix on Thursday was a frustrating one for the Lakers, considering how hard they played in the fourth quarter only to fall to the Suns by just three points.
Royce O’Neale was the hero for Phoenix, knocking down what turned out to be the game-winning three with just 1.7 seconds left in the game.
However, upon further review, it certainly looked like Grayson Allen jumped up in the air and landed before passing the ball to Collin Gillespie on the game-clinching offensive possesion.
It appeared the NBA missed this travel, and they’d address it the following day in the official Two Minute Report.
Well, the NBA released its report on the Lakers-Suns contest, and they found nothing they got wrong.
Finding zero mistakes in the final two minutes is surprising, but what’s shocking is that they made no mention of the game-winning possession by the Suns whatsoever.
On every NBA Two Minute Report, they make it clear that even non-calls can be explained.
The plays assessed include all calls (whistles) and notable non-calls. Notable non-calls will generally be defined as material plays directly related to the outcome of a possession.
Even if Lakers fans’ eyes are somehow deceiving them, the NBA should’ve explained how Allen made the pass legally.
This isn’t the first time the NBA has made a call against the Lakers this season that makes no sense. In their recent loss against the Celtics, Neemias Queta put his hand through the rim on a Lakers shot attempt.
Not only was it not called a goaltend, but afterwards, Lakers head coach JJ Redick heard from the NBA, and they doubled down on that being the right call.
In fact, this isn’t even the first time this season that NBA officials have made key mistakes during a Lakers-Suns game. Back in December, they had multiple errors during the closing minutes, but LA still managed to earn the win.
On Thursday night, they weren’t so lucky, and now the Lakers have another confusing response from the NBA on how their games are being officiated.
There isn’t one play that ultimately decides a game, but given how close this matchup was and how obvious this mistake is, it’s a pretty brutal error and an even worse response from the league.
Considering how few games are left in this NBA season and that the No. 3 seed and the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference are seperated by just four games, losing on a shot that shouldn’t have counted could haunt the Lakers.
The NBA Two-Minute Report doesn’t change an outcome, but it’s supposed to provide transparency and acknowledge mistakes made during a close game.
It appears neither was accomplished by the league, and the Lakers will just have to deal with it.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.
