LeBron James still isn't over the foul that wasn't.
Boston forward Jayson Tatum appeared to clearly foul James on a layup attempt in the final seconds of regulation in Saturday's Celtics-Lakers game at TD Garden, but the referees missed the call and allowed the game to go to overtime, where the Celtics pulled away for a 125-121 win.
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James was incredulous in the moment and still perplexed by the no-call after the game, tweeting his frustration late Saturday night. A day of reflection apparently didn't change his feelings, either: On Sunday night, LeBron posted a video of the play on his Instagram story and tagged Tatum with the sarcastic caption, "Good block @jaytatum0."
Tatum took the call-out in stride with an innocent response on his own IG story: "Last night was (a) blur... good game champ."
That's essentially the same reaction Tatum had after the game when asked whether he thought he fouled James on the play.
"The last two minutes and overtime was a blur," Tatum responded with a sly smile. "I don’t really know what happened. Think I have to watch the game, watch the film. Everything happened so fast. Gotta move on and we got the win. That’s all I've got to say about that."
Saturday's game was just one of 82 for both teams, but the refs' missed call caused such a commotion that the official NBA Referees Twitter account felt the need to release a dramatic statement.
It's true the officials missed this call -- crew chief Eric Lewis admitted as much after the game -- and it's true the Lakers probably would have won had James been awarded free throws as time expired in regulation.
But Los Angeles also blew several other opportunities to win Saturday night (L.A. led by three points with less than 10 seconds remaining, for example), and one loss won't cost the team its season -- unless LeBron and Co. refuse to let this "injustice" go.
