LeBron James EXPLODES on Lakers coach Darvin Ham for not challenging out-of-bounds call in Nuggets playoff game... but controversial moment doesn't prove costly in vital win

LeBron James was left furious with Lakers coach Darvin Ham for not challenging an out-of-bounds call in their crucial NBA playoff game against the Nuggets.

Just under six minutes into the fourth and final quarter in Los Angeles, television cameras captured a seething LeBron urging the Lakers bench to challenge the call after he was deemed to have knocked the ball out of play.

When Ham and Co chose not to, the 39-year-old jumped up and down in fury and threw his arm out to make his frustration known.

He then turned around and appeared to mouth a few more angry words in the head coach's direction, before the Nuggets went on to score from a wide open layup straight afterwards.

Fortunately for LeBron, the no-challenge did not prove costly for his team as they held on for a vital 119-108 victory which keeps their playoff hopes alive. 

LeBron James was left furious with Lakers coach Darvin Ham during their game vs the Nuggets

The LA superstar made his frustration known when Ham chose not to challenge an out-of-bounds call

He appeared to lose his temper with the Lakers head coach with six minutes left in the game

'We deserved this tonight,' Ham said. 'We've just got to bottle it up and keep pushing and understand it can be our time. Why not us? Every new game is a new opportunity to be more competitive and more together and more selfless.'

After falling 3-0 down in their first-round series against Denver, LA knew another defeat at Crypto.com Arena would dump them out of the postseason.

LeBron and Anthony Davis had other ideas, nevertheless, with the star Lakers duo putting up 55 points between them in an impressive win on the night. Davis was on hand with 25 of them as his iconic teammate recorded 30.

D'Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves also scored 21 points apiece for the seventh-seeded Lakers, who snapped their 11-game losing streak against the defending NBA champions with their first win over the Nuggets since December 2022.

Denver swept Los Angeles out of the Western Conference finals last season, but the current Lakers responded to this 0-3 deficit with a performance more worthy of a team that rolled into the postseason with 12 wins in 15 games. 

Fortunately for LeBron and the Lakers, they kept their playoff hopes alive with a vital win

James scored 14 points in the fourth quarter on 6-of-8 shooting, again carrying the Lakers late in his 21st NBA season. He had never been on a team swept out of the postseason in the first round.

Despite eyeing his 40th birthday at the end of this calendar year, LeBron is still proving to be one of the league's premier players.

While his Lakers still have to win the next three against Denver, the basketball icon proved it can be done while shooting 14-for-23 from the field. 

Game 5 takes place on Monday in Denver, where the Nuggets will look to close out the series at home and advance to the conference semifinals.