LeBron James‘ birthday celebration took a disappointing turn when the Minnesota Timberwolves narrowly edged past the Lakers in a contentious 108-106 victory. The game could have easily ended in James’ favor had it not been for his game-tying 3-point attempt being ruled as a 2-point shot. With two seconds left in the game, the Lakers were trailing by three points; therefore, had the shot been correctly counted as a 3-pointer, it would have forced overtime and provided a chance for a birthday win.

Despite the bitter taste left due to poor officiating, his son, Bronny James, commemorated his father’s 39th birthday with a career-defining night on the court. After the incredible showing, King James expressed his candid opinions on Bronny’s season-best performance.

Bronny James is making impressive strides

Although USC dropped to 0-2 in Pac-12 play after falling 86-70 to Oregon State at Gill Coliseum on Saturday, Bronny James stole the limelight. He poured in 15 points with three assists off the bench on 6-for-11 shooting from the field in 20 minutes of play-time. To emphasize the significance of this performance, his previous high was six points in a 79-59 win over Alabama State on Dec. 19.

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This huge improvement prompted Father James to share his heartfelt thoughts on social media. He took to X (formerly Twitter) and wrote, “His rhythm is starting to return to form after the layoff. Great showing tonight Young (king emoji). Oh still on mins restriction too.”

Bronny experienced a cardiac arrest in late July, leading to a four-month absence from basketball. With a strict minutes restriction in place, he had not exceeded 17 minutes of play in any game before Saturday night. Therefore, Saturday’s game not only saw increased minutes from Bronny but also showcased an impressive threefold surge in scoring for someone who had been averaging five points per game leading into the contest.

While Bronny had an amazing outing, James, on the other hand, was robbed of a victory on his birthday. But he is not the one to let it go easily.

LeBron James calls out refs after birthday loss

Considering that the referees called the shot a two-pointer despite a review, James took to his Instagram handle to let them know that it was indeed a three. He shared an image of his foot well behind the blue line and sarcastically remarked, “Sooooooooooooooo!!!!! WTF. Helluva Happy Bday gift to me.”

James contributed 26 points on 10-21 shooting while going 1-4 from beyond the arc to go with 6 assists, 3 rebounds, 3 steals, and 1 block in a losing effort. Despite his stellar performance, the Lakers failed to secure a win due to a critical officiating error.

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