LeBron James was left furious with Lakers coach Darvin Ham for not challenging an off-field call in their crucial NBA playoff game against the Nuggets.
With just under six minutes left in the fourth and final quarter in Los Angeles, television cameras caught a furious LeBron urging the Lakers bench to challenge the call after he was deemed to have taken the ball out of the game.
When Ham and company decided against it, the 39-year-old jumped up angrily and extended his arm to express his frustration.
He then turned around and appeared to utter a few more angry words in the head coach’s direction, before the Nuggets scored on an open layup immediately after.
LeBron James was furious with Lakers coach Darvin Ham during their game against the Nuggets
The Los Angeles superstar made his frustration known when Ham decided not to challenge an out-of-bounds call.
He appeared to lose his temper with the Lakers head coach with six minutes remaining in the game.
Fortunately for LeBron, the non-challenge didn’t prove costly for his team as they cruised to a vital 119-108 victory that keeps their playoff hopes alive.
After falling 3-0 in their first-round series against Denver, Los Angeles knew another loss at Crypto.com Arena would knock them out of the postseason.
However, LeBron and Anthony Davis had other ideas, and the Lakers’ star duo scored 55 points between them in an impressive victory that night. Davis was present with 25 of them, while his iconic teammate recorded 30.
D’Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves also scored 21 points each for the seventh-seeded Lakers, who snapped their 11-game losing streak against the defending NBA champions with their first win over the Nuggets since December 2022.
Denver eliminated Los Angeles from the Western Conference finals last season, but the current Lakers responded to this 0-3 deficit with a performance more worthy of a team that reached the postseason with 12 wins in 15 games.
James scored 14 points in the fourth quarter on 6-of-8 shooting, once again leading the Lakers to the end of their 21st NBA season. He had never been on a team eliminated from the postseason in the first round.
Fortunately for LeBron and the Lakers, they kept their playoff hopes alive with a vital victory.
Despite turning 40 at the end of this calendar year, LeBron continues to prove himself to be one of the best players in the league.
While his Lakers have yet to win their next three against Denver, the basketball icon showed it can be done by shooting 14 of 23 from the field.
Game 5 will take place on Monday in Denver, where the Nuggets will look to close out the series at home and advance to the conference semifinals.