Referee explains controversial Suns-Lakers timeout call / News - Basketnews.com

Crew Chief Josh Tiven claimed Austin Reaves still had possession with the ball pinned to his leg.

Credit:

The NBA In-Season Tournament matchup between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Phoenix Suns featured a controversial episode with just seconds left on the game clock.

Player of the Game EFF 36 LeBron James Points 31 Accuracy 12-25 Rebounds 8 Assists 11

Up by two (115-113), the Lakers inbounded the ball with 11.2 seconds left in the fourth quarter. Austin Reaves received the ball and lost possession a few seconds later. However, a timeout, which was asked by LeBron James, was called during the play.

It garnered attention and criticism, as it seemed the ball was already loose when the timeout was called, which would constitute an error on the referee's side. When the timeout was called, the Suns seemed to have recovered the loose ball.

The league released the pool report after the game, where Crew Chief Josh Tiven explained the call.

"During live play, the official felt that LA still had possession of the ball when LeBron James requested the timeout. Through postgame video review in slow motion replay, we did see that Austin Reaves had his left hand on the ball while it’s pinned against his left leg, which does constitute control," the referee said.

However, the explanation added more fuel to the fire, as people claimed there was an obvious error. The opponents pointed out that Devin Booker might have fouled Reaves during the play.

Thank you for reading us! We have even more content for you.