Through three quarters of Monday’s contest against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James was already having a great game, but an incident fired up him to play at an even higher level.
A fan mocked James for missing a shot near the end of the third quarter, and it turns out that the fan was actually a member of the Cavs’ front office.
“But heading into the fourth quarter trailing the Cavs 89-87 after he missed a turnaround shot at the buzzer that would have tied things up, James found a reason to quit the nice guy routine and bury his former team,” wrote ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.
“After his 14-footer over Taurean Prince bounced twice on the rim and out, James noticed Jason Hillman, the Cavs’ basketball chief of staff, sitting in a group by the baseline with the rest of the Cavs’ front office and clapping to celebrate the errant shot, sources told ESPN.”
After the incident, the Akron, Ohio native proceeded to singlehandedly outscore his former team 21-19 in the fourth quarter.
In all, James scored 46 points on an unreal 19-of-26 shooting performance from the field to propel the Lakers to a 115-108 win.
The team not only has the best record in the NBA, but it is also still undefeated on the road. It’s in the midst of a seven-game road trip that will continue on Wednesday against the Philadelphia 76ers, who currently have the best record in the Eastern Conference.
James’ performance on Monday against an upstart Cavs team is yet another reminder that he’s still in his prime, even at age 36.
