D’Angelo Russell Swallows Frustration on Referees’ “Unfair” Decision After Warriors Serve Chilling Play-In Warning

The Los Angeles Lakers recently faced off against the Golden State Warriors for the third time this season. With both Stephen Curry and LeBron James being present for the game after being mentioned on the injury report, the game was looking to be an exciting one. What nobody could have anticipated, however, were the series of long replay reviews and the malfunctioning of the on-court shot clock that dominated the night. The Lakers made a worthwhile effort, with D’Angelo Russell and LeBron leading the scoring effort, but they eventually ended up losing the game by a score of 128-121.

The3-pointer In the aftermath of the game, D’Angelo Russell chose to speak out on the unexpected stoppage, including how it resulted in the referees disallowing LeBron to make a 3 pointer that could have increased their chances for a win. According to an update on X by Michael Corvo, the 28-year-old was reportedly heard saying, “It just seems a little unfair. I don’t wanna really go in on that. I don’t wanna get fined.”

LeBron James’ 3-pointer was made during the game’s final two minutes. While the shot was impressive, it took the officials considerable time to determine whether the player had not stepped out of bounds to make it. In the end, the referees ruled against the four-time NBA champion.

If that wasn’t disheartening enough for the Lakers, they also had to deal with the fact that the shot clock completely stopped working in the aftermath of the decision. The PA announcer of the arena was asked to announce the seconds of the countdown. The final two minutes of the game reportedly took more than 23 minutes to complete, interfering with the Lakers’ rhythm and preventing them from pulling off a last-minute miracle.

D’Angelo Russell did not want a repeat of his $15K Fine

Both the players and the Lakers fans seemed to be disappointed with the recent outcome of the game. While D’Angelo Russell wanted to use more words to express his frustration, he probably did not want to repeat what occurred during his earlier clash with Stephen Curry’s team.

In January, the Warriors and the Lakers faced off for their first matchup since the previous season. The latter team put up an impressive offensive play, with Russell securing 28 points, 3 rebounds, and 5 assists to his name. During the final 1.2 seconds of the game, Stephen Curry attempted to make a last-minute attempt to take the lead by making a full-court shot.

Even as the ball was in the air, the buzzer went off, and the game concluded. Russell, who was on the receiving end, proceeded to kick the ball away towards the stands. While the action did not seem to have caused any harm to the people in the stands, the 28-year-old still ended up paying a $15,000 fine for committing it.

With the memory of the above incident still fresh in his mind, it seems that D’Angelo Russell did not want to play with his chances by allegedly making his dissatisfaction known.

READ MORE: LeBron James Celebrates D’Angelo Russell’s Company in Elite Lakers Milestone