yahoo - 5/8/2026 6:22:35 PM - GMT (+2 )
After the final buzzer of the Lakers' Game 2 loss in Oklahoma City, Austin Reaves could be seen in an animated discussion with the officials, expressing frustration about how the game was called despite his 31 points.
Lakers had a meeting with the refs after Game 2 pic.twitter.com/yExVR0FkVC
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 8, 2026
Reaves wasn't alone. After the game, a number of Lakers players, as well as coach JJ Redick, expressed frustration with the officiating.
"I sarcastically said the other day, they're the most disruptive team without fouling," Redick said of the Thunder. "I mean, they have a few guys that foul on every possession... They're hard enough to play. They're hard enough to play, you've got to be able to just call them if they foul, and they do foul."
Redick, who picked up a technical in the first quarter for yelling at official Ben Taylor about a perceived missed call, then went on to say this crew, as well as others, do a poor job officiating LeBron James, who had 23 points and six assists in the loss.
"LeBron has the worst whistle of any star player I've ever seen," Redick said. "I mean, I've been with him two years now. The smaller guys, because they can be theatric, they typically draw more fouls, and the bigger players that are built like LeBron, it's hard for them. He gets clobbered. He got clobbered again tonight a bunch."
LeBron gets frustraded after the refs missed a clear and-1 foul on him pic.twitter.com/8aD1I40oeP
— Italo Santana (@BulletClubIta) May 8, 2026
Reaves had confronted crew chief John Goble after the game, and it stemmed from Goble yelling at Reaves during a center-court jump ball (off an overturned call) with 5:34 left and the Lakers trying to mount a comeback. Reaves quote via Dave McMenamin of ESPN.
"I felt like I was respectful to all of them all night. I mean, there's a million times in the past I've said way worse stuff..." Reaves said. "At the end of the day, we're grown men. And I just didn't feel like he needed to yell in my face like that. I told him that. I wasn't disrespectful. I told him if I did that to him first, I would have got a tech. I feel like the only reason I didn't get a tech is because he knew he was in the wrong. So, yeah, I just felt disrespected."
As for the Thunder, video circulated online of them watching Reaves talk to the officials postgame, looking amused. They have heard it all before and know it's often complaints borne out of frustration at not being able to beat them. The Thunder are up 2-0, and Game 2 felt like a game where the Lakers had a chance to steal one on the road, only to have OKC finally start to hit its 3-pointers and pull away in the end.
Game 3 is Saturday night in Los Angeles and you can be sure Lakers fans are going to let the referees know how they feel.
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