LeBron James and the Lakers were unable to end their series with the Warriors on Wednesday night, losing Game 5 to the defending champions 121–106.
Los Angeles, who saw Anthony Davis leave Game 5 with a head injury, got off to a slow start and was never able to recover. The series now heads back to L.A. for Game 6 on Friday with the Lakers holding onto a 3–2 lead.
There was one call early in the game that seemed to set the tone for the night and it was a weird one: James got whistled for a five-second, back-to-the-basket violation while dribbling the ball early in the first quarter.
This was something that is just so rarely seen:
LeBron James whistled for the rare 5 second back to the basket violation 😳
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) May 11, 2023
pic.twitter.com/0obZLYgegJ
Here's the full play:
TNT’s Stan Van Gundy said on the broadcast that it was the first time he’d seen one of those called all season.
The NBA rule states:
"An offensive player in his frontcourt below the free throw line extended is not allowed to dribble the ball with his back or side to the basket while being actively guarded by an opponent for more the 5 seconds.”
It was the right call, but just so weird to see it get called.
NBA fans had theories:
Nba is trying to force a game 7 so bad https://t.co/G8WUIUpGLk
— Benjamin Powell (@stillabeast) May 11, 2023
This is crazy scripting https://t.co/11YoarG5eZ
— Shoulda Coulda Woulda (@honeybbqfries) May 11, 2023
This is when i knew the warriors were winning😂 https://t.co/6T5slvOMum
— KiNG O$iRi$ (@ikingosiris) May 11, 2023
This when you should've known the fix was in 😂 https://t.co/m98b6cIr7R
— 4.19 🔥🤘🏾 (@Jturner_18) May 11, 2023
Cut the game off at this moment. Figured I wouldn’t waste my time… https://t.co/QnjSW01FWP
— Ray Diggs (@Ray__Diggs) May 11, 2023
i knew we were doomed after this 😂 i ain’t seen that call in ages! 😭😭 https://t.co/lsKLi0aig1
— 🕺🏽 (@0fficialJosh_) May 11, 2023
Once this was called I knew it was going to be a long night https://t.co/WjdqEL8U2Z
— ✞ HIMMY NEUTRON 🚀 (@ASVPXALMIGHTY) May 11, 2023
😂😂 the refs working extra hard https://t.co/5nPn2PRiSs
— 𝕾𝖔𝖑𝖔 𝕸𝖆𝖋𝖎𝖆 🥷🖤 (@AndreGoatedx) May 11, 2023
LeBron James whistled for the rare 5 second back to the basket violation 😳
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) May 11, 2023
pic.twitter.com/0obZLYgegJ
Lmfao Steve Kerr complaining works 😂😂😂 https://t.co/5SKEeNAMrR
— x.o (@saroarcha) May 11, 2023
