Jerry West might not want to hold his breath waiting on an apology from HBO ... 'cause the network is defending the controversial 'Winning Time' show and standing firmly with its "talented creators."
The show has been under serious scrutiny since it debuted in March -- with Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and, most recently, Jerry West, completely trashing the validity of what happens in each episode ... claiming a lot of it is straight-up not true.
But HBO -- which had previously stayed silent on the public outcry -- released a statement to The Hollywood Reporter on Tuesday .