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Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James let his frustration be known following L.A.'s 101-99 loss to the Denver Nuggets in Game 2 of their Western Conference first-round playoff series on Monday night.
While speaking to reporters after the game (h/t ESPN's Dave McMenamin), James took issue with what he perceived to be inconsistent officiating from the referees.
In reference to a foul originally called against Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. on Lakers guard D'Angelo Russell late in the third quarter, James said: "D-Lo clearly gets hit in the face on a drive. What the f--k do we have a replay center for if it's going to go [like that]? It doesn't make sense to me."
James later had a somewhat questionable foul called against him with 57.1 seconds left in the game, which allowed Nuggets guard Jamal Murray to hit two free throws and tie the game.
Per McMenamin, a Lakers source suggested that the James foul could have been considered "marginal" contact and overturned, which was the rationale crew chief Scott Foster used for overturning the Porter foul.
LeBron continued by saying the officiating inconsistencies "make no sense" and "bother" him. When he got up and left the podium, James said, "It's f---ing stupid."
Given that the Lakers were already down 1-0 in the series, Monday's loss was significant, and it loomed especially large since L.A. was in control for much of the contest.
The Lakers led by 15 at halftime and 10 after three quarters, but they were outscored 32-20 in the fourth, and Murray put an exclamation point on the game by hitting the game-winning shot with 0.1 seconds remaining.
Now, James and the Lakers are facing elimination if they don't turn things around quickly against the reigning NBA champions.
Denver swept L.A. in the Western Conference Finals last season, and although the circumstances surrounding the Nuggets' win on Monday were controversial, it is starting to feel as though the Nuggets may have the Lakers' number.
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