"We were very close," Lakers coach Frank Vogel said. "I felt two bad calls at the end put Butler to the line, you know, and that's unfortunate in a game of this magnitude."
Of course if Vogel didn't waste his challenge placating LeBJ on a late 1st half charge, he could have used it to challenge one of those late fouls on Butler. I thought it was a dumb babysit LeCryBaby challenge when it occurred, and told my white cat that he should save it for the end game, where it might be important. Twas an unsuccessful challenge, but didn't matter even if they won it. Use the Challenge in a challenging situation.
Not saying either late foul call would have been overturned, but the 2nd one didn't look like much. And One Challenge is the remedy given for any bad or questionable refereeing you disagree with ...
I think throughout the playoffs, Vogel has been iffy at best on challenges. I think Doc said he doesn't like the challenge rule, so rarely uses them -- which is dumb. it's a tool you're given, so learn how to use it, or hand it off to an assistant who works out the nuances.