Charles Barkley Calls Out 'Unfair' Rule That Impacted Lakers-Nuggets Game

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The Denver Nuggets closed out the first-round series against the Los Angeles Lakers with a 108-106 victory on Monday night at Ball Arena. The Nuggets will advance to the conference semifinals against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

In one of the most controversial moments of Game 4, the Lakers successfully challenged a foul call on Anthony Davis late in the fourth quarter. The Lakers used their final timeout to challenge the call, which was the topic of discussion for NBA on TNT’s Charles Barkley.

Barkley made the argument after the game that the Lakers should have retained its timeout due to successfully challenging the call.

“If you win a challenge and you lose a timeout, that doesn’t seem fair to me,” Barkley said. I don’t understand why they win the challenge but lose the timeout. I want clarification.”

Kenny Smith agreed with Barkley, noting that a team should not be punished because the referees missed the call. It is important to note that according to the official NBA rules, a team is not refunded a timeout after a successful challenge.

Jamal Murray made his second game-winning shot of the series with 3.6 seconds remaining. He finished the game with 32 points, three rebounds, seven assists, and made five 3-pointers. Jokic recorded another double-double with 25 points and 20 rebounds.

LeBron James led the Lakers with 30 points, nine rebounds, and 11 assists on 11-of-21 shooting. Anthony Davis finished the night with 17 points, 15 rebounds, and four assists.

It will be interesting to see if there is a push for the NBA to change the rule this offseason. Regardless, the Lakers were eliminated on Monday night and will enter the offseason full of question marks regarding the roster and coaching staff.