LeBron James joked that he changed out of his shoes — one black, one white, with “equality” in gold capital letters — at halftime because he was playing poorly.
“If that’s a bad game, then sheesh,” teammate Kevin Love said.
James on Sunday finished with 20 points, 15 assists and 12 rebounds to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers past the Washington Wizards 106-99 for their 18th victory in 19 games and then said afterward his choice of footwear was related to the game being played just over a kilometer from US President Donald Trump’s White House.
Photo: Brad Mills-USA Today
“This is a beautiful country, and we’re never going to let one person dictate how beautiful and how powerful we are,” the four-time NBA Most Valuable Player said.
James had his fourth triple-double in the past five games, despite being called for four fouls in the final quarter.
Still, he offered a scathing self-critique.
“I actually played pretty bad tonight. I wasn’t as strong with the ball — I had six turnovers. Kind of lazy with the ball at times and my teammates did a great job bailing me out,” James said.
Love led Cleveland with 25 points and added nine rebounds. Jeff Green added 15 points, while Kyle Korver scored 11.
“He just affects the game in so many ways and makes a lot of plays for other guys, too,” Love said about James. “He’s just setting us up and getting us into our spots. That’s what he does. He’s our leader.”
The last time these teams played, in Washington on Nov. 3, Cleveland won thanks to 57 points from James. That prompted Wizards coach Scott Brooks to joke before the tip-off that holding James to “56 would be pretty good tonight.”
“I have a lot of respect for coach (Tyronn) Lue, but I think he’s making a bad decision if he doesn’t sit LeBron tonight. Back-to-back games, right? Our fans saw 57. They don’t need to see any more,” Brooks added.
This time, James was more of a facilitator.
“His IQ is the highest I’ve ever been around,” Brooks said of James. “Just the way he sees the floor.”
Bradley Beal led Washington with 27 points, while John Wall had 15 points, 10 rebounds and six assists in 32 minutes in his third game back after missing nine with an injured left knee.
In a matchup of Eastern Conference division leaders, neither team led by more than seven until Wall turned the ball over, leading to a fast break for James, who was fouled at the other end and completed the three-point play for a 103-94 lead.
That was part of a 23-16 edge for the Cavs in the fourth quarter, which began with the teams tied at 83-83.
“Against a great team like that, you have to be sharp the whole game,” Wizards forward Mike Scott said. “In the fourth, we weren’t sharp on the offensive end and they made plays.”
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