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Timberwolves, controversial call spoil birthday of Lakers' LeBron James

Anthony Edwards scored 31 points and Naz Reid had 21 as Minnesota improved to 14-1 at home.

Nolan O'Hara

Timberwolves, controversial call spoil birthday of Lakers' LeBron James
Timberwolves, controversial call spoil birthday of Lakers' LeBron James /
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It’s a game of inches.

With 2.3 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James appeared to hit a 3-pointer that would’ve tied Saturday night’s game against the Timberwolves at 107-107.

But the official ruled that his foot was on the line, so it was a 2 instead of a 3, leaving the Lakers down 107-106. The call on the court stood upon review.

“They ruled it on the line,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said. “I thought he was on the line when he pulled up, I thought he was on the line when they reviewed.”

Anthony Edwards was fouled with 1.4 seconds remaining on the ensuing inbounds pass and he made 1 of 2 free-throw attempts to put Minnesota up 108-106.

That meant James would get one more chance to make some magic on his 39th birthday.

But the Lakers star failed to get his game-tying shot attempt off in time and the Timberwolves held on for a 108-106 victory Saturday in front of a sold-out and raucous Target Center crowd.

James, who was listed as questionable before the game with a non-COVID illness, played 39 minutes and finished with 26 points, six assists and three rebounds. James did not think his foot was on the line when asked about his would-be game-tying shot postgame.

“It’s obviously a 3, my foot is behind the line. You can see the space between my front of my foot and the 3-point line,” James said. “You clearly see a white — the wood on the floor, there’s a space between the front of my foot and the 3-point line so. Stevie Wonder can see that.”

James said he was told by an official after the game that the call was out of their hands and made by NBA replay officials in Secaucus, N.J. In the pool report after the game, official Tony Brothers said that there wasn't "clear and conclusive evidence" to overturn the call to a 3, which is why it stood as a 2.

Anthony Davis — who had 33 points, 17 rebounds and eight assists — had the Lakers (17-16) going early and led them to an early 17-6 lead in the first quarter. But despite scoring 17 points in the opening frame, Los Angeles took just a 31-29 lead into the second quarter.

Part of the reason why was Naz Reid, who knocked down a pair of 3-pointers in the opening quarter and provided the Wolves (24-7) with a much-needed offensive spark as Minnesota continued to turn over the ball early. The Wolves had 19 turnovers on the night.

“We shoot 50%, 19 turnovers and then when we didn’t turn it over, we got, I thought, really pretty decent looks,” Finch said. “Sometimes the switching bothered us a little bit, but I thought we did really well. Just turnovers continue to plague us.”

But Reid’s spark carried over into the second quarter and he scored 16 of his 21 points in the first half as Minnesota battled its way to a 61-57 halftime lead.

Edwards helped the Wolves hold on to narrow leads late in the fourth quarter, knocking down two crucial 3-pointers. The Target Center crowd was giving him MVP chants as he knocked down two free throws with just over two minutes remaining that gave Minnesota a 102-95 lead.

With just under a minute remaining and up 104-100, Edwards found a wide-open Mike Conley, who knocked down a 3-pointer from the left corner that for a moment looked like it could be the dagger.

“Clutch shot-making has been big, we’ve made shots in close games,” Finch said.

Edwards finished his night with 31 points, three rebounds, three assists and three blocks. Conley had 15 points, seven assists, four rebounds and a steal.

Their efforts helped the Wolves hang on Saturday and improve their record in downtown Minneapolis to 14-1. 

Final key stats

  • Anthony Edwards: 31 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 blocks
  • Naz Reid: 21 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 blocks, 1 assist
  • Mike Conley: 15 points, 7 assists, 4 rebounds, 1 steal
  • Rudy Gobert: 13 points, 13 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block
  • Anthony Davis: 33 points, 17 rebounds, 8 assists, 4 steals, 2 blocks
  • LeBron James: 26 points, 6 assists, 3 rebounds, 3 steals, 1 block
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Nolan O'Hara
NOLAN O'HARA

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