It's getting tougher and tougher to blame Kings fans if they believe there's an NBA conspiracy against their favorite team.
No, this isn't about the 2002 Western Conference finals and the fix that most definitely was in.
Unfortunately for Sacramento, the officiating hasn't seemed to go their way in the current season, either. The Kings have lost two games by a single possession so far, and both outcomes might have been different if the officials hadn't blown a couple specific calls.
The day after the Kings lost 99-97 to the Lakers on Nov. 15, the NBA's Last Two-Minute report revealed that Los Angeles' LeBron James should have been called for an offensive foul for crashing into Harrison Barnes with 5.5 seconds remaining. Of course, in the game itself, the officials got it backward and called Barnes for a blocking foul. James made both of his resulting free throws, which proved to be the decisive points in the game.
Oh, but there's more.
In Sacramento's 103-102 loss to the Celtics on Monday, the Kings were on the wrong side of a wrong call once again.
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Tuesday's Last Two-Minute Report stated that Boston's Marcus Smart should have been called for a traveling violation with 33 seconds remaining in the game. Instead, the refs missed it, and Smart banked in what would be the decisive basket.
Another tough NBA Last Two-Minute report for the Kings.
It says that the officials missed a traveling violation on Marcus Smart with 33 seconds left in the game.
The Kings would've had the ball and a 102-101 lead if it was called.https://t.co/fFVVz9TWIN pic.twitter.com/sJebayzrPV— Deuce Mason (@DeuceMason) November 27, 2019
Both instances came on the road for the Kings, so perhaps that explains the whistles, or lack thereof. Of course, the fact that the Lakers and Celtics -- the NBA's two darling franchises -- were the direct beneficiaries of the missed calls isn't going to quiet any conspiracy theories.
[RELATED: Buddy's career night not enough to save Kings from loss]
Ultimately, there's nothing the Kings can do. They've done a tremendous job to get back into the thick of the Western Conference after losing their first five games and now sit at 7-9 on the season. But if you ask them, that record should be reversed.
