The three games between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Phoenix Suns this season have been money so far. However, their latest encounter was the one with the most stakes as it came with a Semi-Final berth in the In-Season Tournament on the line. But, as the story has been this season, the Lakers won for the third time in a row. Unlike the previous two encounters, though, there was a ton of controversy surrounding the end of the game. It came as a result of a potentially late timeout courtesy of LeBron James. However, the NBA on TNT studio was a microcosm of the matchup in the form of Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley.

The Phoenix Suns legend was firmly on his team’s side, claiming the timeout to be illegal. The entire situation came about as a result of a deflection on the part of Kevin Durant on Austin Reaves. While the ball wasn’t fully in possession, James called for a timeout and LA got the basketball. In a game that they won by just 3 points, the move could have been the potential deciding factor in the game.

Barkley was firmly of the belief that the ball wasn’t in control of AR15. He said during the Inside the NBA broadcast on TNT, “He don’t have the ball. He did not have the ball…That was an awful call.” The Los Angeles Laker’s pride in Shaquille O’Neal came to the forefront, however. “It don’t matter coz they didn’t overturn it. Stop crying.” 

In a tightly contested encounter, that moment became the ultimate momentum swinger. Before that, however, it was a battle for the ages between LBJ and KD. But, the biggest play of the night came down to Hillbilly Kobe himself.

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While Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal argue, Austin Reaves steals the day

Despite the inconsistent play from Anthony Davis, as predicted by the Chuckster, the game was between two old-time rivals. With both LeBron and Kevin Durant trading bombs, it would take a miracle for either team to pull away. While Durant was having a wildly efficient night, James had turned it on in the 4th quarter.

With Davis going through another slow second half, and Booker down to 5 fouls, it was up to the old-timers to make something happen. But, between the battle of legends, Austin Reaves took the baton and ran with it. With less than a possession on the clock, Reaves would nail a step-back 3 to effectively ice the game. An ensuing free throw from AD and the game was over.

Even though the Suns did get a shot off to end the game, it was nothing more than a wild heave from KD as the Lakers now move on to Vegas for a showdown with the Pelicans.

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