Lakers get clutch performances from Austin Reaves, referees to advance to semifinals

With 15 seconds left in the Lakers' in-season tournament game against the Suns, Reaves drained a three-pointer to give Los Angeles a four-point lead.

Teammate Jarred Vanderbilt praised Reaves after the game, saying, "He’s not scared of the moment to take or make those big shot. He’s a hell of a player. He’s just a dog."

After Kevin Durant cut the lead to two, the referees stepped in to bail out Reaves after he lost the ball on a trap from Durant and Devin Booker. Despite the ball being loose, the referees granted the Lakers a timeout — and a free possession.

According to the referees' pool report after the game, Reaves momentarily held the ball against his leg, which counted as possession, accounting for a timeout. It's a highly questionable explanation given that the referees had to use a slow-motion replay to justify the call and even more suspect since LeBron James signaled for a timeout when the ball was loose. The decision denied Phoenix what would have been an easy game-tying layup.

After the game, Booker wasn't having it.

"Refs miss calls sometimes, but when it's a bit that obvious, it's tough," Booker said. 

Within 10 minutes of the end of the game, Booker posted a screenshot of the play on his Instagram.

Referees do miss calls, but historically, those misses tend to suspiciously favor the Lakers in elimination games. 

Durant refused to blame the officials, focusing on the Suns' 20 turnovers instead.

The Suns had 20 turnovers while the Lakers had only nine. Officially, that is.

For the Tim Donaghy conspiracy theorists out there, note that the Lakers were favored by two points, and after this call, they won 106-103. The in-season tournament really is bringing excitement to Las Vegas!