If getting called out by Devin Booker was not enough, official James Williams found himself in the hot seat again. This time, it’s not just the Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James, but even their rivals on the night are questioning the decision of the referee who has spent over 14 seasons in the NBA. The chaos happened after the flagrant 2 foul call and the subsequent ejection of Deandre Ayton.

With 5:41 remaining in the third quarter of the 115-96 Game 4 loss, the Lakers center got his marching order. It “looked crazy on camera,” Ayton acknowledged, but it was not malicious. He stated that his arm simply slipped off Alperen Sengun’s shoulder and hit his head. It didn’t affect the Rockets center at all. It was the first time Ayton was ejected in his eight-year NBA career. Even his teammate Adou Thiero was ejected after receiving two technical fouls with 1:11 remaining in the fourth quarter. This brought a premature ending to his first postseason appearance, and LeBron James said it was “uncalled for”.

“I’m more pissed off about them kicking Adou out. That was uncalled for, and it made no sense. Think that’s his first time he’s ever been thrown out of a game in his life. I don’t think that was warranted. Give him two technicals? The kid just got in the game. That was ridiculous,” concluded James.

It was a physical game; players from both teams jawed back and forth as it was a do-or-die matchup for the Rockets. Thiero entered the game midway through the fourth quarter and made a memorable playoff debut by scoring his first postseason basket with an emphatic alley-oop dunk over Dorian Finney-Smith. He got tangled up under the basket with the Rockets guard Aaron Holiday, and both exchanged words and were thrown out. Lakers head coach expected some explanation, but it never came his way.

“I didn’t get a great explanation on Adou,” said JJ Redick. “I’m sure James (Williams) will give you that. DA he’s got such a sweet, kind soul. That wasn’t dirty or intentional. He was trying to brace himself with that off arm against Sengun’s body, and it looked like his arm just kind of slipped. I don’t think DA would ever do anything malicious.” Even the Rockets’ star, who was on the receiving end of the foul from Ayton, sent some words for the officials.

Even the Houston Rockets backed LeBron James and the Lakers for the injustice

Ayton scored 19 in Game 1 and then just 8 points combined in the next two. He knew he would have to increase his intensity, and he did that in Game 4. With 19 points and 10 rebounds, DA was one of the Lakers’ only forms of consistent offense in the blowout loss. His ejection didn’t change the outcome, but it surely stalled his momentum. Even Sengun was surprised by the call.

“I don’t want to like make the officials crazy, but I didn’t expect him to be ejected. I think it was a little bit soft. I’m glad they called it”. The Rockets star smirked and delivered his statement on a lighter note. But his head coach knew it was a serious thing. “I was surprised it was a flagrant 2. But that’s the NBA nowadays, and they call it a little softer than they used to.”

Again, this doesn’t change the fact that the LeBron James-led Lakers had a dreadful night from beyond the arc (5-for-22, 22.7 percent). But it raises questions about the standard of refereeing during the playoffs. Devin Booker called Williams out because even he never got an explanation for the technical or other fouls issued in his name during the Suns-Thunder series.