Credit: Prime
NEED TO KNOW
- The Lakers were unhappy with the officiating of Game 2
- Austin Reaves and Coach JJ Redick shared their issues on the court and after the game
- The Thunder have a 2-0 lead as the series transitions to L.A.
After dropping Game 2 of the Western Conference semis to the Oklahoma City Thunder, Los Angeles Lakers coach JJ Redick and his players were disgusted, while the home team had the last laugh — literally.
Thunder players including Cayson Wallace, Jaylin Williams, Jared McCain and Isaiah Hartenstein looked on, relishing their win and the unusual sight of the Lakers circling the officials following their 125-107 loss.
Lakers guard Austin Reaves, who had a heated confrontation with official John Goble midway through the fourth quarter, sought to follow up with his grievances, meeting officials at mid-court after the game.
“He turned around and just yelled in my face, just thought that was disrespectful,” Reaves, 27, told reporters after the game. “At the end of the day, we’re grown men and I just didn’t feel like he needed to yell in my face like that. I told him if I did that to him first, I would’ve gotten a tech. Felt like the only reason I didn’t get a tech is cause he knew he was in the wrong. I just felt disrespected.”
Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images
Redick, too, felt the same way about the Thunder’s play, which outhustled them on defense, causing a costly 20 Lakers turnovers.
Follow your favorite athletes on and off the field with PEOPLE’s free sports newsletter — sign up now!
“I sarcastically said the other day they were the most disruptive team without fouling. They have a few guys that foul on every possession, and all of the good defenses do,” he told reporters. “SGA [Shai Gilgeous-Alexander] got like a, I don’t even know, a touch foul on a drive.”
He added, “There was a stretch where, like, four straight possessions, our guys got absolutely clobbered. Tried to make an entry pass to Jaxson and Jaylin Williams was grabbing his jersey with both arms, and (that ends up being) a turnover. They’re hard enough to play. They’re hard enough to play. You gotta be able to just call it if they foul. And they do foul.”
Meanwhile, the coach was concerned about the treatment of his star LeBron James, who led the way for the Lakers with 23 points.
“LeBron has the worst whistle of any star player I’ve ever seen,” Redick said. “I’ve been with him two years now. Again, the smaller guys, because they can be theatric, they typically draw more fouls. And the bigger players who are built like LeBron, it’s hard for them.”
He added, They get clobbered, and he got clobbered again tonight a bunch. That’s not like a new thing, that’s not specific to this crew or this series. He gets fouled a lot. The guy gets hit on the head more than any player I’ve seen on drives and it rarely gets called.”
The series — where the Thunder have a 2-0 advantage — now shifts to L.A. for Game 3 on Saturday, May 9.
Read the original article on People
