LeBron James’ brilliance was on full display when the Cleveland Cavaliers swept the Atlanta Hawks in last season’s Eastern Conference finals in a matchup of clubs at less than full strength.
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Following the Cleveland Cavaliers two consecutive losses on the road, they returned home Thursday night to take on the Milwaukee Bucks to seek retribution for their second loss of the season. Following the turnover, James stalked to the bench and sat down.
LeBron’s actions would earn the Cavs a technical foul, as he left just four of his teammates on the floor.
The idea belongs to LeBron James, who pitched it to teammates on the team bus before a game against Milwaukee last week.
What made the scene a lot more interesting was the fact that the Cavs were comfortably up at that point, 72-46. Kevin Love led the way with 25 points and 11 rebounds, while James was two assists shy of a triple double, finishing with a 19-11-8 stat line.
“Well, he was frustrated”.
“As a young player, I like to take the challenge, but I don’t want to just talk about me”, Antetokounmpo said. “I understand his frustration, but obviously, you shouldn’t do that”, Blatt quickly added.
“It’s not about what I said, it’s about what they did”, Blatt said. That’s the most you’ll hear out of David Blatt about the incident. He was a very good player for us a year ago before he got injured.
“At home, we won against the best team in the world”, he said.
Kevin Love finished with 22 points and 15 boards and J.R. Smith had 18 points for the Cavs, who were playing without four of their top eight players by the end of the night.
“He threw me out and that’s his prerogative”, Budenholzer said. Parker, though, reportedly met up with the Bucks in Cleveland and might play against the Cavs. Guard Mo Williams was out with a lower right leg injury, joining guards Kyrie Irving (knee) and Iman Shumpert (wrist) and still the Cavs beat the Bucks, 115-100. Thompson started at center in place of Timofey Mozgov, who could miss two weeks with a strained right shoulder.
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Asides from sloppy passing, James also aimed to put a stop to the team’s pregame introductions – or at least the high-fives and frivolity that go along with it. Now the Cavaliers simply huddle when the starting lineup is announced, getting in some last bits of strategy talk. “We have to share the ball offensively, get the ball popping, defend at a high level and not turn the ball over”.
