The game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Phoenix Suns on Monday went down to the wire, with LeBron James intentionally missing a free throw.
The Suns led by three points with six seconds remaining in the game. James was on the charity stripe and made his first attempt from the line.
The Lakers‘ only option was for the veteran star to miss his second free throw and secure the rebound. James intentionally missed his second attempt, but the Suns got to the rebound first.
Phoenix’s center Jusuf Nurkic grabbed the rebound and got it to his teammate Royce O’Neale, who advanced and passed the ball to All-Star guard Bradley Beal.
With 0.8 seconds remaining, the Lakers were forced to foul Beal. The game ended with the Suns winning the matchup, 109-105.
The team was aware of James’ deliberate miss, head coach JJ Redick told reporters after the game.
“We communicated that, yeah,” Redick said. “Everybody that was on the floor, knew what was happening… It was an insane miss. I don’t think I’ve ever seen an intentional miss hit the bottom of the rim and go straight down.
The Lakers head coach, however, is upbeat about the team’s start to the season despite the defeat. James didn’t have the best night shooting the ball against Phoenix. He only had 11 points, five rebounds and eight assists.
Following their loss, James confirmed that he had an illness that started on Friday but played through it.
JJ Redick raged after LeBron James and the Lakers committed a 24-second violation
However, following a turnover in the second session, the former Duke Blue Devil player yelled from the bench. James and the squad had no free opportunity to try a shot as the shot clock ran out.
The Lakers burned the shot clock as a result of the Suns’ relentless defensive pressure.
The camera switched onto Redick, who was fuming from the sidelines.
“Shoot the f**king ball!” Redick yelled at his team.
During their second game against the Lakers, the Suns doubled their defensive effort. In other cases, Phoenix paired LeBron James with rookie forward Ryan Dunn.
Both teams will face each other four times this season and their next matchup will be on Nov. 26, their In-Season Tournament game.
