The Cleveland Cavaliers won Game 5 of the series against the Indiana Pacers 98:95 thanks to LeBron James. Pacers star Victor Oladipo, however, sensed a breach of the rules.
A few seconds before the end, Oladipo was tied and had tried to decide the game by layup. James, however, rushed in from behind and blocked the throw, similar to his legendary block in Game 7 of the 2016 finals against Andre Iguodala. On the other side, James sank the match-winning threesome with the siren.
Oladipo, however, said that the ball was on the board before, so the basket should have counted. “It was on the board and then he blocked the ball. That was a Goalten thing. It’s hard for me to even talk about. This layup was important,” Oladipo said at the post-game press conference.
James was of course also asked about the play and grinned at first: “Sure, that was a goal thing”, to make it clear shortly afterwards: “No, that wasn’t a goal thing in my opinion. I try such plays over and over again. He made a strong move and I just tried to get to it somehow. I think I succeeded in doing that.”
There was no review of the scene, because there would have to be a call. Instead, the Cavs took a time-out and at three seconds on the clock, James was thrown in to make the decisive throw – much to the Pacers’ annoyance.
“We can watch the rerun,” said Lance Stephenson. “That was a crystal clear goaltending.”