VIDEO: Lebron James calls out ref Leroy Richardson for poor officiating in Cavs 126-125 loss to Hawks
The Cleveland Cavaliers suffered a monumental collapse on Sunday afternoon as they gave up a 26-point fourth-quarter lead to the Atlanta Hawks to eventually lose the game in overtime, 126-125.
Lebron James who was fouled out in overtime explained how the decision taken by ref Leroy Richardson affected the outcome of the game.
“I’m sitting right next to the ref, and the explanation he gave me, I never heard in my 14-year career. Never.
“He told me that I’m not allowed to call timeout because he didn’t know who had possession of the ball,” James said, relaying what Richardson said to him. “And I was the one who entered the ball to Kyrie. And as soon as I seen Millsap go trap Kyrie in the short corner, I looked at him and called timeout twice — at least twice — and he wasn’t even paying me no attention. And that’s when the jump ball happened. I said, ‘Why?’ He said, ‘I can’t call timeout because I don’t know who has possession of the ball. I don’t know what’s going on. I don’t know the tie up.’ I said, ‘That doesn’t make any sense because we have the ball. I entered the ball to Kyrie so you shouldn’t even be worried about the tie up or not, I’m calling it as soon as I saw Kyrie is getting tied up in the corner.’
“So, I’ve never heard that one before. I’ve never heard that explanation before in my life.”
WATCH THE VIDEO HERE
