LeBron James, Steve Kerr, More Discuss ‘Bizarre’ Ending to Lakers vs. Warriors

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The ending to Saturday’s matchup between the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors at Crypto.com Arena was spoiled by multiple replay reviews and shot clock malfunctions.

The Warriors came out on top with a 128-121 win to better their playoff hopes, and the Lakers dropped to 10th in the Western Conference with the loss.

While meeting with reporters after the game, Lakers star LeBron James described the situation that occurred with under two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter as “unfortunate.”

“Obviously it messes with the rhythm, but at the end of the day, you want to get it right,” James said. “It’s an unfortunate situation.”

Purple and Gold head coach Darvin Ham was also quick to point out how the lengthy delays impacted the rhythm of the game:

On the winning side, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr shared his view of the situation, expressing frustration about both the replay reviews and the malfunctioning shot clock.

“It was bizarre,” Kerr told reporters after the game. “It seems like a few times a year you get clock issues. That’s about as extreme as I’ve ever been a part of where the backup unit doesn’t work either. It’s unfortunate.

“… I also don’t like the rule that you can go back and look at an out of bounds. LeBron’s three, that seems to happen once or twice a year. Love to see that rule go away.”

The first issue that occurred with under two minutes remaining in Saturday’s contest happened when officials took a lengthy amount of time to determine whether James had stepped out of bounds on a three-pointer from the corner.

They determined James did step out of bounds, and play resumed for a short period before officials reviewed an out of bounds call involving Draymond Green and Austin Reaves on a coach’s challenge by Ham.

After that, the shot clock stopped working entirely, and the officials announced that the arena’s PA announcer would announce the time as it wound down.

According to Rob Perez, the final two minutes of Saturday’s game took more than 23 minutes to complete.

With the Lakers and Warriors both vying for playoff spots this late in the season, the rhythm-altering final two minutes was disappointing for both sides. The two sides will meet again on April 9, and they’ll be hoping for a better conclusion.