The Los Angeles Lakers showed grit and resourcefulness when they outlasted the Phoenix Suns, 106-103, on Tuesday in the quarterfinal round of the NBA in-season tournament. As a result, they head to Las Vegas to face the New Orleans Pelicans in the semifinal round on Thursday.
But the Lakers’ win on Tuesday was marred by some controversy. With 7.4 seconds left in the fourth quarter, they inbounded the ball, and it appeared Austin Reaves lost control of it while being hounded by Devin Booker. A timeout was awarded to L.A. though some believed Reaves either had lost possession or had been fouled by Booker.
The NBA’s report on the last two minutes of the game, which is released after each game that is played, confirmed Reaves recovered possession of the ball and pinned it against his leg when the timeout, which was called by LeBron James, was granted.
In fact, the report also acknowledged that there were three incorrect non-calls that should’ve gone against Phoenix.
And here's the other possession where LeBron was fouled by KD and then AD was fouled by Nurkic. It would have been KD's sixth. pic.twitter.com/2vXZIEfaMv
— Daniel Starkand (@DStarkand) December 6, 2023
Shortly before the timeout controversy, Reaves hit the decisive shot, a 3-pointer that put the Lakers ahead by four points. James produced 31 points, 11 assists, eight rebounds and five steals to generate the win for his team.