LeBron James Rips Officiating After Lakers Lose Second Game to Nuggets: ‘It Makes No Sense to Me’

The Los Angeles Lakers star’s frustration was evident in his post-game comments on Monday night

Published on April 23, 2024 02:14PM EDT Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images

LeBron James had criticism for the officiating following the Lakers’ loss on Monday night

The star offered terse comments before dropping the mic during the post-game presser

James also called into question the officiating of the night’s earlier game

LeBron James is calling into question the calls made by officiants following the Los Angeles Lakers’ playoff loss against the Denver Nuggets on Monday night.

“I don’t understand what’s going on in the [NBA] replay center, to be honest,” the Lakers star, 39, said in his post-game comments, which were shared on X (formerly known as Twitter).

James added, “D-Lo [Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell] clearly gets hit in the face on a drive. What the f— do we have a replay center for if it’s going to go [like that]?”

The NBA player’s frustration was on view after the team lost a consecutive game to the Nuggets, 101-99, after Denver’s Jamal Murray hit a last-second shot as time expired.

But during most of game two, the Lakers’ adjustments kept the Nuggets at bay — and at one point in the second half, they had a 20-point lead on the defending champs.

With the Lakers up by 10 with 39.5 seconds to go in the third, crew chief Scott Foster ruled that Denver’s Michael Porter Jr. made “marginal” contact with Russell, and that the initial call on the floor would be reversed.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

“It makes no sense to me,” James said following the game. “It bothers me.”

James also then made a case against the officiating of the night’s earlier game, in which the New York Knicks defeated the Philadelphia 76ers.

“And then I just saw what happened with the Sixers-Knicks game, too,” he said, before dropping the mic. “Like, what are we doing?”

The Knicks, who rallied from a five-point deficit to win 104-101 and take a 2-0 lead in the series, seemingly benefited after officials did not recognize 76ers head coach Nick Nurse’s attempt to call a timeout.

Philadelphia is set to file a complaint with the league over the officiating of its first two games, multiple outlets, including USA Today, reported.