The Orlando Magic and every other opponent in the NBA will learn to not talk trash to LeBron James on a night when he’s just trying to coast.
James got off to a slow start Friday night against the Magic, likely caused by an emotional day matchup against his former team, the Miami Heat.
James was actually outplayed by Magic forward Tobias Harris in the third quarter. about halfway through the third, Harris and James began to exchange words and had to be separated. According to Chris Haynes from Cleveland.com, Harris told LeBron to “stop flopping”.
Harris at that point woke up the king.
LeBron scored 15 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter while holding Harris to just one point after the exchange, leading the Cavaliers to a 98-89 win.
James admitted that Harris got his attention.
It wasn’t the shoulder or the elbow, it was the words that he said that got me going,” James said, according to Haynes. “I was actually in chill mode tonight but chill mode was deactivated after that.”