Following the noise surrounding the officiating, Charles Barkley shut down the Lakers’ fold with a brutal take. The Los Angeles Lakers blew a 20-point lead and lost yet another game against the Denver Nuggets, 10 on the trot. Both teams relied heavily on physical plays throughout the game and went after each other for an intense battle at the Ball Arena. However, the final result favored the Nuggets after two back-to-back clutch buckets from Jamal Murray.

Following the game, Barkley picked up the mic in the post-game analysis in the Inside Guys show and demanded credit for the Nuggets. And he evaded the officiating angle. He said, “Refs had nothing to do with the game. Give the Nuggets credit man. Them boys balled out. The Lakers, I give LeBron credit, I give AD credit. The person I’m gonna give most credit for… D’Angelo Russell. He had been killed on television for the last 48 hours. He really stepped up tonight. But man… Jamal’s got to get all the love he deserves.” 

The issue picked up the pace when the Lakers HC Darvin Ham constantly argued about the officiating throughout the game. In fact, in leaked tapes, we can even see LeBron James tackling the issue on the court. He seemed angry, and was following around the officiating, questioning them, “Why didn’t you call that sh*t?” It came to a point where King James was almost in their faces, while the officiating was ignoring him and moving on with their duties. James was frustrated, following them around with an angry demeanor, asking the officiating again, “I’m asking you a question”. He kept following the referees, until security personnel pulled him to the side, and that is when the tape ended.

This issue also sneaked into the post-game discussion. ESPN’s Dave McMenamin reported the LA side’s point guard D’Angelo Russell also opted for a similar argument in his post-game comments. The Lakers locker room seemed to be gravely upset with the officiating at the Mile High City.

The officiating has been a topic of discussion whenever the Nuggets meet the Lakers. Notably, the debate for tonight’s officiating began way before tip-off. When the league announced the officiating group for the Monday night game, the fans couldn’t keep their calm. It was because of the presence of Scott Foster.

Foster, who is famously known as “The extender”, has a reputation for siding with the team which is trailing in a series. Fans expected him to produce a favorable officiating for the LA side. Instead, the Lakers locker room has a different question in mind.

The Lakers-Nuggets officiating issues

Despite the on-court brilliance from both teams, officiating has played a major role in their rivalry. The Nuggets swept the Lakers 4-0 in the 2023 Western Conference Finals. During that series, the Purple & Gold had constant issues with the officiating. The team even pleaded for the Last Two Minute Report multiple times in the series.

While the Game 1 report came clean, the league admitted that the officiating had four missed calls in Game 2. Nevertheless, it didn’t affect any change in the result of the series. Since then, the Nuggets have been dominating the Lakers with their size and playmaking making.

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Notably, the Nuggets also had a similar situation four years ago when they got kicked out of the Western Conference Finals in 2020. The Purple & Gold side won the series with a 4-1 record. At that time, the Nuggs’ coach, Michael Malone raised his concerns regarding the number of free throws awarded to the Lakers throughout the series.

Now, the Nuggets seemed to have gotten the best out of the Lakers with time. Who do you think will win this series? Let us know in the comments.