{"id":673926,"date":"2026-03-23T04:59:50","date_gmt":"2026-03-23T04:59:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/673926\/"},"modified":"2026-03-23T04:59:50","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T04:59:50","slug":"nbas-last-two-minute-report-for-lakers-magic-was-a-mess","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/673926\/","title":{"rendered":"NBA\u2019s Last Two Minute Report for Lakers-Magic was a mess"},"content":{"rendered":"

Considering that the Lakers beat the Magic<\/a> in a dramatic game, the NBA\u2019s Last Two Minute Report was destined to be the center of attention the following day.<\/p>\n

Well, the results are in and their findings leave a lot to be desired.<\/p>\n

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For starters, there was a lot of heat brought on Deandre Ayton. He had three calls that the league claims they missed that would\u2019ve negatively impacted the Lakers.<\/p>\n

According to the NBA<\/a>, he should\u2019ve been called for a three-second violation on two separate occasions and a foul call on Tristan da Silva in the final seconds of the game shouldn\u2019t have been awarded. That foul led to two free throws for Ayton, who unsuccessfully attempted to recreate Austin Reaves\u2019 intentional missed free throw heroics.<\/p>\n

However, the biggest question for most was going to be the ruling of Paolo Banchero\u2019s foul on LeBron James\u2019 game-tying layup attempt.<\/p>\n

Well, they claim it wasn\u2019t even a foul, stating he made initial hand-on-ball contact first and that any incidental contact occurred after the block.<\/p>\n

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The video they shared doesn\u2019t exactly give a great look to agree with them, and regardless, Paolo slapped LeBron\u2019s entire arm, so it\u2019s hard to understand how even the day after that\u2019s still not a foul.<\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t the first time the Lakers have received confusing officiating information.<\/p>\n

Earlier this season, the NBA clarified that it\u2019s not a goaltend if a player\u00a0extends their entire hand through the net<\/a>\u00a0while a shot\u00a0is being taken.<\/p>\n

The only good news the Lakers got from this Last Two Minute Report is that LeBron didn\u2019t touch the ball last on a late out-of-bounds play.<\/p>\n

The NBA even brought out the Hawk-Eye camera during the initial challenge, which seems to be the LeBron Cam since it\u2019s been used on him a couple of times now during key reviews. While the decision went against LeBron last year in the Lakers-Wolves playoff series<\/a>, he was on the right side this time.<\/p>\n

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The NBA\u2019s attempt to aim for transparency and accountability with these reports is a good thing, but there has to be a better way.<\/p>\n

Not only does this report fail to change results, but it also leads to a confusing rationale for calls that still feel missed even after extended reviews.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s hard to see the point of this if teams on both sides will still be upset and unsatisfied with the ruling and reviews after the fact, even after the NBA has tried to clarify things.<\/p>\n

The only solace Lakers fans have is that they still ultimately won the game<\/a>, so it\u2019s best to read the report, shake your head and move on.<\/p>\n

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You can follow Edwin on Twitter at\u00a0@ECreates88<\/a>\u00a0or on Bluesky at\u00a0@ecreates88.bsky.social<\/a>.<\/p>\n