LeBron James was left questioning a controversial flagrant foul called on Los Angeles Lakers teammate D'Angelo Russell during their 108-103 defeat against the Denver Nuggets in Game Two of the Western Conference Finals.
Lakers guard Dennis Schroder instigated the incident by throwing a poor pass in the half-court while driving into traffic. Nuggets player Jamal Murray jumped the passing lane to steal the ball before bursting past Lonnie Walker IV and heading to the basket.
Russell then tracked back in transition, coming across to close Murray's angle and contest as the Denver guard leaped towards the basket. In going up for the block, the recovering Laker did not make contact with the ball and instead only collided with his opponent.
Subsequently, Murray lost control of the ball before eventually landing on his back as the referees immediately blew up for a foul. After watching an instant replay of the incident, the officials assessed Russell a Flagrant Foul 1, which the NBA defines as "unnecessary contact committed by a player against an opponent."
After returning to his feet, the Nuggets guard stepped up to take and make both resulting free throws. Denver also retained possession of the ball as a result of the call.
James, who subbed out of the game a minute before the incident, was far from pleased with the decision. He was seen on the sidelines repeatedly shouting in the direction of the officials, "What did he do?".
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The decision also split opinions during ESPN 's broadcast of the game. Former NBA referee Steve Javie agreed with the call, citing the impact and the follow-through as reason enough for the flagrant. He also claimed that the wind-up on the block was a factor, as was Russell's elbow catching Murray in the face.
But those calling the game on TV weren't in agreement with Javie. Mark Jackson and Jeff van Gundy were both of the opinion that it should have stayed a standard foul.
While Murray was taking and making his free throws, Russell explained to David Guthrie, who called the initial foul, what his intentions were when leaving his feet to contest the play in the first place.
On social media, Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green, who knows a thing or two about flagrant fouls, appeared to weigh in on the debate. Around the time of the decision, Green tweeted the word 'soft' suggesting he thought it did not warrant a flagrant being called.
That will be little consolation to former teammate Russell, who has struggled throughout the first two games. As The Ringer's Kevin O'Connor tweeted after Game Two, the Lakers are a -41 in 59 minutes with the guard on the floor and a +30 in the 37 minutes he has been on the bench.
Whether head coach Darvin Ham adjusts the rotation remains to be seen. Game Three is in Los Angeles on Saturday.
