The NBA has often given LeBron James the benefit of the doubt in many cases. While LeBron has often complained that he gets fouled too much and officials never call it because of his size, when it comes to the league office, there is rarely a bad word said about the man who has been their biggest and brightest star for the last decade. However, after the Cleveland Cavaliers Game 5 victory over the Indiana Pacers, the NBA office has come out and admitted that their officials made a mistake and the denials by LeBron were inaccurate. The NBA officially announced that LeBron James was, in fact, guilty of goaltending in the Game 5 win -- but they also made an interesting ruling that sided with LeBron and almost evened out the accusations against the officiating crew last night.

The NBA's statement about LeBron James

In the Game 5 win, the Cleveland Cavaliers knocked off the Indiana Pacers after LeBron James blocked a Victor Oladipo shot and then hit a three-pointer himself to win the game, 98-95. After the game, Oladipo came out in the press conference and said that the officials ruined the game with their non-goaltending call against LeBron.

In response, LeBron sarcastically said that he didn't commit goaltending and he just played like he always does in the games. However, at the end of the day, the NBA sided with Oladipo. In their ruling, the NBA said that LeBron James committed goaltending and it was a missed call by the officials. With that said, the NBA also said that the officials also missed a call that gave the Indiana Pacers a turnover.

The turnover was when a Pacers defender knocked the ball out of LeBron James' hand. The ball hit the baseline and then the Pacers got the turnover. The ball should have been ruled out of bounds with over 20 seconds remaining, taking away that Oladipo shot opportunity anyway.

The actual result of the Cavaliers vs. Pacers game

Victor Oladipo is mad that the goaltending was not called and said that it influenced the game. He even said that LeBron James might not have taken the three-point shot if the goaltending was called. However, if the turnover was called properly, it wouldn't have mattered anyway.

There are too many "what-ifs" involved here. If the turnover was right, Oladipo might not have gotten the chance to make the shot and the goaltending would never have happened. If the goaltending had been called, the Cleveland Cavaliers might not have taken the shot he did. If everything played out and the goaltending was called, LeBron James could have hit the same three he did and win anyway.
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