Was the Lakers' loss really unfair? LeBron James posted a photo expressing frustration over an uncalled hand-check; the referee report found no missed calls in the final two minutes.

On January 11th Beijing time, LeBron James posted on Instagram a photo showing him being obviously hand-checked in the final moments of yesterday’s game, adding a facepalm emoji.

In yesterday’s NBA regular season, the Lakers fell 101-105 to the Bucks. In the last 30 seconds, LeBron was blocked by Giannis during a drive. However, from the picture, Turner’s defense appeared to be a clear foul. Yet, the official NBA last two minutes referee report ruled no foul on that play.

The referee report stated that there were no incorrect or missed calls in the final two minutes of the game; Giannis’s block and steal on LeBron in the closing moments were both legal plays. The detailed explanation is as follows—

With 40.5 seconds remaining, Giannis legally blocked LeBron’s layup attempt. (Note: The report did not mention Turner, who touched LeBron’s hand)

With 3.3 seconds left, Giannis reached out and legally deflected the ball from LeBron’s hands; this play was also deemed foul-free.

Ultimately, the Lakers lost the game by 4 points. Judging from LeBron’s posted photo, he was clearly unhappy that the hand-check foul was not called.

After the game, when discussing the final play (Giannis’s steal which had no foul controversy), LeBron said: “For me, I made a mistake, and obviously that mistake should never have happened at that moment. Giannis played great defense, anticipating well, reaching from behind to swipe the ball—that was an excellent defensive play. But I clearly shouldn’t have made a mistake at that time.”

Additionally, when talking about his matchups with Giannis, LeBron stated: “At this stage of my career, facing off against so many stars has always been great. Whether it’s Giannis, Curry, Durant, Harden, or Westbrook—players I’ve competed against for years, some even alongside—I treasure these matchups. Giannis is only in his 13th season, clearly much younger than me. Like I said about those stars, we’re all players from the same era, it feels like we just started yesterday. So competing with these great players is always an honor and something I deeply appreciate.” After the game, he also signed his jersey and gave it to Giannis.

What do you think about that controversial call? Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments.