LeBron goes off on team during 2nd straight ugly loss, Kyrie Irving's response raises eyebrows
With 14 seasons under his belt, LeBron James seemingly sets a record or reaches a new milestone with every game he plays.
James reached two more milestones Thursday night, but they aren’t ones to celebrate.
The Cavaliers were blown out by the Raptors 133-99, which, coupled with their Monday loss to Minnesota, gave James a losing streak unlike any he’s seen before.
LeBron James' teams had never lost back-to-back games by at least 25 points … until losing last night. pic.twitter.com/1ryXNjBP3Z
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) January 12, 2018
Toronto’s 133 points also set a mark for a LeBron opponent.
The Cavaliers allowed 133 points, the most in a regulation game in LeBron James' career.
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) January 12, 2018
The poor play by the Cavs clearly upset James, especially during a sequence late in the second quarter. After Pascal Siakam of the Raptors blew by Kevin Love for an uncontested dunk, Cleveland called a timeout and Coach James took over.
LeBron is fed up pic.twitter.com/hGq6mBkppG
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) January 12, 2018
While it might appear that James’ anger was directed at Love, he was actually defending Love and yelling at assistant coach Phil Handy, who was to the right of J.R. Smith. James had already ripped into Love while the two were walking to the bench, and he was telling Handy that the players were handling the situation.
Still, James’ frustration was apparent, and it was more so because of the lack of effort by some of his teammates. After winning 18 of 19 games, the Cavs have now lost seven of their last 10.
“We’ve all got to be accountable for actions, accountable for how we play, how hard we play, what we’re doing for one another,” James told reporters after the game. “Just plays that you should come up with, you should make, and when you’re losing, you tend to not want to make those plays or tend to let some plays get away from you. And we can’t afford that right now, the way we’re playing ball. So, just trying to hold everybody accountable and move on, which we did.”
James smartly said “we” throughout his postgame quote as he was a part of the team’s general indifference. He did score 26 points, but he also had just three rebounds and one assist. Of James’ 1,319 career regular season and postseason games, only three other times has he posted as few as three rebounds and one assist in a game.
One person who took delight in Cleveland’s apparent dysfunction is ex-Cav Kyrie Irving. Some 3,500 miles away in London, Irving took time to troll James and the Cavs by liking an Instagram video of James yelling at his teammates and coaches.
— Jared Weiss (@JaredWeissNBA) January 12, 2018
Irving has undoubtedly been on the receiving end of James’ criticisms before and seemed to enjoy someone else getting berated in public.
But according to Celtics reporter Jared Weiss, this wasn’t an example of Irving being petty toward LeBron; rather, he was taking a jab at Handy, with whom he has a close relationship.
Still, being petty certainly isn’t above Kyrie Irving or most NBA players. LeBron vs. Kyrie, Westbrook vs. Durant, Joel Embiid vs. Everybody — part of the NBA’s rise in popularity in recent years is because of the social media beefs and trivial feuds that have occurred between players.
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