The Western Conference Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets has had many storylines, with officiating being one of them.
Since the beginning of the series, both teams have expressed annoyance at certain calls being made by the referees — or lack thereof. After Game 1, Nuggets star Jamal Murray spoke out about his teammates getting into foul trouble too easily, saying Denver must “earn the respect” of the officials against a team like the Lakers.
Meanwhile, LeBron James regularly shows displeasure when the referees rule to play on instead of calling for a foul following many of his aggressive drives to the basket.