The final 0.4 seconds possession awarded to the Spurs was a referee error! The Lakers suffered but still narrowly won: almost dragged into overtime.

On November 7th Beijing time, the NBA officially published the referee report for the final two minutes. It showed that in the last two minutes of the Lakers-Spurs game, only one misjudgment occurred: the possession at 0.4 seconds remaining should have been given to the Lakers, but the referees incorrectly awarded it to the Spurs. The Lakers narrowly defeated the Spurs 118-116.

The report pointed out that in the final 0.4 seconds, Johnson of the Spurs was the last player to touch the ball before it went out of bounds, so the possession belonged to the Lakers. However, the referees wrongly gave the possession to the Spurs, believing Smart touched it last. This error disadvantaged the Lakers and benefited the Spurs.

This call also gave the Spurs the chance for the final possession, during which LaRavia was called for a foul on Champagne. The foul call was correct, giving the Spurs two free throw attempts, but Champagne missed the free throws and failed to extend the game into overtime.

The referee report also confirmed that Smart’s inbound violation with 1.2 seconds left in the game was a correct call. At the time of the inbound, Smart was not completely out of bounds, constituting a violation. Although Smart was unhappy with the call after the game, he admitted that as a seasoned NBA veteran, he should not have made such a mistake. He took responsibility and said his teammates did not blame him but joked around, maintaining a positive team atmosphere.

With this narrow victory, the Lakers extended their winning streak to five games. Currently, the Lakers hold a 7-2 record, ranking second in the Western Conference.