Who knows how Monday night's Lakers-Cavaliers game might have gone. The lowly Cavs led by two, 89-87, in the final seconds of the third quarter. Maybe they were on their way to handing the reigning champions, owners of the NBA's best record, their first road loss of the season. But then LeBron James missed a turnaround jumper to close the quarter, and a member of Cleveland's front office had the absolute gall to be glad about it.
"He was a little bit too excited about seeing me miss. ... The good thing for him is I only come here once."
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 26, 2021
LeBron says a member of the Cavs front office celebrated after he missed the shot at the end of the third.
Bron went on to score 21 in the fourth 😳 pic.twitter.com/sYwgGyvO7R
Per ESPN's Dave McMenamin, that would be Jason Hillman, the Cavs' chief of staff and former general counsel. Jason, you fool! You absolute fool. Do not let the King see your happiness when something good happens to your team; that is like calling down the thunder. LeBron went on to score 21 points in the fourth quarter alone, on 9-for-10 shooting, plus two steals and two blocks. He finished with 46 points on 73-percent shooting, and the Lakers won, 115-108.
“I know who he is," LeBron said after the game, laughing. "He’s part of the front office group. You know, he was really excited about me missing that shot a little bit more extra than I would have liked. But, you know, he gotta root for his team, obviously. He showcased that. I know I had another quarter. The fourth quarter is my favorite.”
Before that, he was all set to go 1-for-9 in the fourth quarter and slouch his way to a loss. If LeBron can turn some lawyer no one's ever heard of into motivational fodder, at least half of Defector's readership ought to consider themselves warned.
