Final Two Minutes of Warriors-Lakers Game Takes 23 Minutes of Real Time After Reviews, Malfunction

A great game between two of the NBA’s flagship franchises ended in chaos.

When the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers—and their stars, guard Stephen Curry and forward LeBron James—get together, NBA fans often wish the matchup would never end.

On Saturday, it nearly happened.

The Warriors defeated the Lakers 128-121 in a game marred by its final two minutes, which took an astounding 23 minutes and 27 seconds of real time to complete.

Yes, you read that right.

The culprits included three coach’s challenges—all in the span of two seconds of game time—and a malfunctioning shot clock.

ABC cameras hilariously panned to an array of celebrities waiting out the delay, including actor Ben Affleck, musician Jennifer Lopez, tennis legend Novak Djokovic, and rapper Bad Bunny.

16 minutes to play 15 seconds. The celebrities have had enough. pic.twitter.com/ZlsFaCFNDc

— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) March 17, 2024

At one point, the game’s referees resorted to having public address announcer Lawrence Tanter read out the time remaining on the shot clock while it was kept via stopwatch.

"I've never seen anything like this in 30+ years in the NBA."

-- Mike Breen

The shot clock in LA stopped working.

After a LONG delay, it was determined the clock would be kept via stopwatch, with PA man Lawrence Tanter counting down the time. pic.twitter.com/XNULtX2ciG

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 17, 2024

James’s reaction, meanwhile, was pitch-perfect; he told ABC’s commentary team that he was “too old for this s–t.”

"I'm too old for this s---."

—LeBron after the stoppages in the final minutes of Warriors-Lakers 😂 pic.twitter.com/PSc9Z564nn

— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) March 17, 2024