{"id":2521571,"date":"2025-12-15T21:55:02","date_gmt":"2025-12-16T02:55:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/watch-announcers-stunned-as-irate-lebron-james-gets-physical-with-referee\/"},"modified":"2025-12-15T21:59:03","modified_gmt":"2025-12-16T02:59:03","slug":"watch-announcers-stunned-as-irate-lebron-james-gets-physical-with-referee","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/watch-announcers-stunned-as-irate-lebron-james-gets-physical-with-referee\/","title":{"rendered":"Watch: Announcers Stunned as Irate LeBron James Gets Physical with Referee"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fwatch-announcers-stunned-as-irate-lebron-james-gets-physical-with-referee%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2521571&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The Los Angeles Lakers currently hold an 18-7 record and are the 4th seed in the competitive Western Conference. However, despite their solid standing and a recent 116-114 win against the Phoenix Suns, there are notable issues affecting team dynamics and individual performances.Luka Doncic delivered 29 points and six assists but struggled with poor shooting and turnovers.Marcus Smart, regarded as the team&#8217;s best perimeter defender, had some questionable plays. LeBron James, nearing 41, is reportedly unhappy with the team&#8217;s focus on developing Doncic and displayed visible frustration during the game, including a heated confrontation with a referee after provocations from Suns player Dillon Brooks.James also openly defied coach J.J. Redick&#8217;s instructions regarding a crucial free-throw late in the game, which he missed. Despite the win, the <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >game exposed potential internal tensions<\/a> and challenges within the Lakers&#8217; roster and leadership.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (REP_0)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (REP_1)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>You&rsquo;d think that given the Los Angeles Lakers are 18-7 after Sunday&rsquo;s win against the Phoenix Suns, and are sitting pretty as the 4th seed in a tough Western Conference, its star players and coaches would be in better moods.<\/p>\n<p>Yeah, about that.<\/p>\n<p>Sunday&rsquo;s road tilt versus the Suns saw a number of curious issues crop up for the Lakers, despite the 116-114 win.<\/p>\n<p>The Lakers&rsquo; top player, Luka Doncic, put up a solid 29 points, six assists, and three rebounds stat line &mdash; which was undermined by extremely poor shooting (28 percent from the field, 14 percent from behind the arc) and turnovers (he had as many turnovers as he did assists).<\/p>\n<p>Then there was whatever&nbsp;<em>this&nbsp;<\/em>play was from the Lakers&rsquo; best perimeter defender, Marcus Smart:<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"stnvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadScript(src) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=src; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.async=true; \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.body.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadScript(\"https:\/\/embed.sendtonews.com\/player3\/embedcode.js?fk=s28Az7AY\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #stnvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#stnvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">MARCUS SMART NO-LOOK PASS &#128293; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/XetxAwq69q\">pic.twitter.com\/XetxAwq69q<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; BrickCenter (@BrickCenter_) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BrickCenter_\/status\/2000406990837985456?\">December 15, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Then there&rsquo;s the LeBron James factor.<\/p>\n<p>With rumors swirling that the soon-to-be 41-year-old (his birthday is Dec. 30) is disgruntled with the Lakers&rsquo; focus on building around the 26-year-old Doncic, James has been under a very intense microscope, even by his standards.<\/p>\n<p>And for those looking for James to be defiant or short-tempered &mdash; they got both on Sunday night.<\/p>\n<p>Now, to be fair, the short temper is largely explained by Suns wing Dillon Brooks, a notorious trash-talker and irritant who has gotten under James&rsquo; skin before.<\/p>\n<p>All it took was a little physical play, and James appeared ready to fight Brooks &mdash; or at least the referee.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">LEBRON JUST PUSHED AND SCREAMED AT THE REF???<\/p>\n<p>We&rsquo;ve seen Dillon Brooks get under dude&rsquo;s skins before, but this something else from LeBron&hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/NBA?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#NBA<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/1K98UkayhL\">pic.twitter.com\/1K98UkayhL<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; ESPN Australia &amp; NZ (@ESPNAusNZ) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ESPNAusNZ\/status\/2000399281237155967?\">December 15, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>An incensed James went on a tirade, in a move that even stunned the local Lakers play-by-play announcers.<\/p>\n<p>James appeared to grab and jostle the referee as he angrily yelled about something Brooks had done. Both James&rsquo; Laker teammate Rui Hachimura and head coach J.J. Redick had to intervene to ensure James wouldn&rsquo;t get tossed out.<\/p>\n<p>(Usually, for players that aren&rsquo;t considered NBA golden geese, touching a referee is an automatic technical foul, and garnering two of those leads to an ejection.)<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;He better stop pushing the official or he&rsquo;s going to be in the locker room,&rdquo; Lakers announcer Stu Lantz said.<\/p>\n<p>Lantz added, &ldquo;This doesn&rsquo;t help our sport at all. Not all.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The other Lakers announcer, Bill Macdonald, just seemed stunned with how &ldquo;irate&rdquo; James was, using that term several times to describe the aging star.<\/p>\n<p>Something was up with James tonight though, because as Redick mentioned in the post-game, James also appeared to openly defy the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/kamala-harris-and-tim-walz-portray-unified-team-against-trump-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Kamala Harris and Tim Walz portray unified team against Trump - Washington Examiner\">coach&#038;rsquo<\/a>;s orders about who would take a technical free throw late in the game.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick says Luka Doncic should have taken the clutch, potential game-tying free-throw vs. Phoenix, not LeBron James, which resulted in a miss &#128563;&#128483;&#65039;<\/p>\n<p>Redick: &ldquo;Luka should&rsquo;ve shot that, yea.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>LeBron: &ldquo;I just walked up to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/giannis-antetokounmpos-block-khris-middletons-heroics-even-nba-finals-at-two-games-apiece\/\" title=\"Giannis Antetokounmpo\u2019s Block, Khris Middleton\u2019s Heroics Even NBA Finals at Two Games Apiece\">free-throw line<\/a>. Why&hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/J85PZsaBxL\">pic.twitter.com\/J85PZsaBxL<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Courtside Buzz (@CourtsideBuzzX) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CourtsideBuzzX\/status\/2000604991422148926?\">December 15, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Redick confirmed in the post-game that Doncic should&rsquo;ve taken a critical free throw late in the game.<\/p>\n<p>James, meanwhile, nonchalantly made it seem like shooting that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/history-made-saint-peters-becomes-first-15-seed-to-reach-elite-eight\/\" title=\"History Made: Saint Peter\u2019s Becomes First 15-Seed To Reach Elite Eight\">clutch free throw<\/a> was his prerogative.<\/p>\n<p>(James would miss that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/north-carolina-advances-to-national-championship-in-coach-ks-last-game\/\" title=\"North Carolina Advances To National Championship In Coach K\u2019s Last Game\">free throw attempt<\/a>.)<\/p>\n<p>Ultimately, Sunday night&rsquo;s win felt about as Pyrrhic a victory as imaginable for Lakers fans. Yes, they won, but squandered a big lead in the process, and there appear to be some festering fissures in the team hierarchy.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>You might expect that with the Los Angeles Lakers holding an 18-7 record after their Sunday victory over the Phoenix Suns and comfortably positioned as the 4th seed in a competitive Western Conference, their key players and coaches would be in high spirits. Well, not quite. Despite winning 116-114 on the road against the Suns, several puzzling problems emerged during the game<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2521572,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Ben-Working-Feature-Image-2025-12-15T211602.773.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[7142,32997,7873,68877,33418],"class_list":["post-2521571","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-basketball","tag-lebron-james","tag-nba","tag-referee-altercation","tag-sports-controversy"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Ben-Working-Feature-Image-2025-12-15T211602.773.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2521571","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2521571"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2521571\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2521575,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2521571\/revisions\/2521575"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2521572"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2521571"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2521571"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2521571"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}