CLEVELAND– LeBron James should have been called for goaltending on his key Game 5 block on Victor Oladipo, the NBA’s last two-minute report stated.
The play in question set up James’ buzzer-beating 3-pointer that gave the Cavaliers the 98-95 Game 5 win and the 3-2 series lead. With five seconds remaining, Oladipo drove into the lane and what appeared to be an easy layup was blocked by James off the backboard.
According to the report, the play was labeled as an incorrect non-call, as the left camera above the rim showed that James blocked the shot after it made contact with the backboard.
On Wednesday night, Oladipo said he thought the play should have been goaltending.
“I got a step on him. Felt like I even got grabbed on the way to the rim,” said Oladipo. “I tried to shoot a layup, it hit the backboard, then he blocked it. … It was a goaltend. It’s hard to even speak on it. It just sucks, honestly. It really sucks. We fought our way back, we tied the game up, that layup is huge.”
Of course, things aren’t that simple. The report also showed that on the Cavs’ possession prior to the block, there was another incorrect call as the Pacers gained possession after James lost the ball out of bounds under Cleveland’s basket. A review showed, however, that Indiana’s Thad Young actually deflected the ball out of bounds, meaning Indiana should have never even gotten that possession.
The full report can be found here.
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Mila Padilla
April 27, 2018 at 10:30 am
NBA report show Young hit ball out of bounds and Oledipo should never had that lay up that Lebron Goaltended!!
Obviously bias against Cleveland!
Mila Padilla
April 27, 2018 at 10:38 am
Why does this writer, write half info on the headline!!!
She is clearly bias against Lebron!!
Headline should read “ NBA report showed Olepido should not have had possession for lay up that Lebron goaltended!
Ashley Bastock
April 27, 2018 at 10:48 am
Mila,
Thanks for reading but all that information doesn’t fit in the headline and the goaltending was the biggest play. There is no “bias” against LeBron (and i think the story about this game shows that https://www.neosportsinsiders.com/a-shot-fit-for-a-king-three-takeaways-as-lebron-james-buzzer-beater-gives-cavs-game-5/) as the article says clearly that the Pacers should have never gotten the ball back in the first place.