LeBron James Criticizes NBA Ref After Cavaliers' 26-Point Collapse vs. Hawks

LeBron James was critical of the officiating Sunday after the Cleveland Cavaliers blew a 26-point lead in the fourth quarter and ultimately lost to the Atlanta Hawks in overtime, 126-125, per Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com.James was particularly incensed when he wasn't granted a timeout after inbounding the ball to Kyrie Irving and attempting to call timeout as the Hawks moved to trap the point guard:I'm sitting right next to the ref, and the explanation he gave me, I never heard in my 14-year career. Never.He told me that I'm not allowed to call timeout because he didn't know who had possession of the ball. And I was the one who entered the ball to Kyrie. And as soon as I seen Millsap go trap Kyrie in the short corner, I looked at him and called timeout twice -- at least twice -- and he wasn't even paying me no attention. And that's when the jump ball happened. I said, "Why'" He said, "I can't call timeout because I don't know who has possession of the ball. I don't know what's going on. I don't know the tie up." I said, "That doesn't make any sense because we have the ball. I entered the ball to Kyrie so you shouldn't even be worried about the tie up or not, I'm calling it as soon as I saw Kyrie is getting tied up in the corner."You can see his full comments below:For more news, rumors and related stories about LeBron James, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the NBA, check out the NBA and Cavaliers streams onBleacher Report's app.
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