Warriors Get A 40-Second Shot Clock From Refs During Lakers Win

The Golden State Warriors defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 128-121 on Saturday night, but the win didn’t come without controversy.

NBA referees often get criticized a lot. Sometimes it is fair. Other times, less so.

But what happened this weekend was brutal to watch.

For whatever reason, the referees were against L.A. from start to finish. Nothing illustrated this better than officials randomly giving the Warriors a 40-second shot early in the fourth quarter:

Only the Warriors get 40 second shot clocks 😭 pic.twitter.com/A1lzkSCw3J

— MVP43🐐 (@StepBackPascal) March 17, 2024

LeBron James’ Interaction With Provocatively Dressed Lakers Fan Goes Viral: https://t.co/OnWAZJkxsm

— Game 7 (@Game7__) March 17, 2024

Understandably, fans had a lot to say about the blatant cheating taking place:

40 seconds is insane how they let this happen 😭😭😭

— Bones🦴 (@Boness305) March 17, 2024

Warriors realized the refs have become to problematic lately that they’ve started paying the score keepers instead

— Washed Gamer (@MitchellRossman) March 17, 2024

Went from 9 to 24 LMFAO
Adam loves his golden boys

— Matty Ice (@El_Guapo_023) March 17, 2024

To recap: AD loses an eye, Warriors get a 40 second shot clock, they overturn a clear legal three by Bron after heal was lifted & not on line, then a 30 minute lapse in play all rythym lost. Worst NBA game ever?

— Anti-Cap (@AntiCapmoves) March 17, 2024

Aaron Rodgers’ Ex Mallory Edens Goes Viral Over See-Through Shirt: https://t.co/DCzbQ98z0V

— Game 7 (@game7__) March 16, 2024

After the game, even Warriors coach Steve Kerr acknowledged that there was some serious shadiness surrounding his team’s victory over the Lakers:

Bottom line – L.A. needed to beat Golden State on Saturday night.

Yes, they got robbed by the referees. But that doesn’t matter. A loss is a loss.

Now LeBron James and Co. will likely need to win two play-in games just to face off against the Western Conference’s top seed when the playoffs commence.

Will the Lakers come to rue this particular referee-influenced Warriors loss when their season comes to a premature end? Time will tell.

Related: Lakers Offer Unfortunate Anthony Davis Eye Injury Update