Fate has a penchant for pitting the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers against each other; or probably LeBron James and Stephen Curry. Regardless, as the two teams neighbor the bottom of the play-in pool in the West, their recent game soon became a high-stakes showdown. The Lakers edged the Warriors in the first stretch. However, they saw Anthony Davis leaving the court because of an eye injury. The Warriors, capitalizing on the open space beneath the basket, erupted to lead by 1 at the half.

With that, as the Warriors held a 124-117 lead with less than 1:30 remaining in the game, it seemed like the basketball gods wanted to soak in the moment. A shot clock malfunction stopped the game, forcing a 15+ minutes hiatus during the potential thriller. With that, LeBron James hilariously aided fans’ uncertainty in the arena, laughing and humorously saying, “I’m too old for this sh*t.”

The game, because of the shot clock disruption and other elements, ended on a controversial note. It initially stopped because of a LeBron James’ corner three over Stephen Curry. While the Lakers were granted 3 points, it was later retracted. With that, LBJ, during the post-game interview, hinted at a botched rhythm, “Obviously it messes with the rhythm, but at the end of the day, you want to get it right. It’s an unfortunate situation.” 

Joining LeBron James were teammates Jaxson Hayes and Austin Reaves. Hayes emphasized on the lengthy review and the malfunction, quipping, “I’ve never seen anything like that before.” On the other hand, Reaves was taken aback with clouds of confusion on the retracted three, saying, “Anytime something like that happens, it s*cks.”

As the game resumed, the Warriors held onto the lead. While the fans expected a thriller, they went home with debatable narratives.

Amid LeBron James ‘rhythm’ admission, fans voice their sentiments on the shot clock debacle

While The King’s comments sparked a series of chuckles and laughs on TV, the fans in the arena got treated to a one-of-a-kind instance. With that, they voiced themselves on social media.

This particular fan was one of the first to make the shot clock mishap known to the internet.

Hilariously bringing personal life into the sentiment, another fan points at the emotional tussle this malfunction has posed for them.

Moreover, this passionate fan then took a jab at the entire league. The person mockingly claimed that the 2-minute report for the game must include a personal apology by the NBA.

With the series of events leading to the final buzzer, a user blamed the referees for ruining a potential nail-biter.

Regardless, another fan, operating as Jeff Van Gundy’s Burner account, displayed happiness in finding new meme content!

For sure, these were a bunch of mixed reactions from the fanbase. Despite the nature of its ending, the game manages to garner plenty of headlines within the league. Luckily, the clash between the Warriors and Lakers is not over. The two teams will meet again in the Crypto arena to end their season series in the second week of April.