LeBron weary of critics, but especially Barkley
After the Golden State’s Klay Thompson fired subtle jabs at Cleveland’s LeBron James during last season’s NBA Finals, calling the NBA “a man’s league” and insinuating that James had his feelings hurt by Draymond Green, a stunned James sat at the podium prior to Game 5 in disbelief.
“Oh my goodness,” James said. “It’s so hard to take the high road. I’ve been doing it for 13 years. It’s so hard to continue to do it, and I’m going to do it again.”
Now in year 14, James appears to be done playing nice. James is firing back at his critics, most notably TNT analyst Charles Barkley.
James’ stormy week continued when he blistered Barkley to ESPN following Monday’s loss at the Dallas Mavericks.
“I’m not going to let him disrespect my legacy like that,” James told ESPN. “I’m not the one who threw somebody through a window. I never spit on a kid. I never had unpaid debt in Las Vegas. I never said, ‘I’m not a role model.’ I never showed up to All-Star weekend on Sunday because I was in Vegas all weekend partying.
“All I’ve done for my entire career is represent the NBA the right way. Fourteen years, never got in trouble. Respected the game. Print that.”
James’ “legacy” has been a point of conversation with general manager David Griffin at various points since his return to Cleveland. Perhaps he has taken some of those chats to heart.
James has been on a tear lately. He rekindled his feud Monday with New York Knicks President Phil Jackson over Jackson’s “posse” comments and last week he shot the Cavs with friendly fire over the structuring of the roster.
Help in that department, however, may be on the way. A league source confirmed the Cavs’ upcoming workout with a number of free agents. ESPN reported Mario Chalmers, Lance Stevenson and Kirk Hinrich are part of a free-agent workout that might help determine who the Cavs will sign to fill their open roster spot. Chalmers wrote on his Twitter account Tuesday afternoon he was traveling to Cleveland.
FISHER: Los Angeles police say burglars got away with more than $300,000 worth of jewelry from the home of former Lakers guard Derek Fisher. The home was unoccupied at the time. Madison says he doesn’t know if the suspects got away with any of Fisher’s NBA championship rings.
Tuesday
SPURS 108, THUNDER 94: In San Antonio, Texas, Kawhi Leonard scored 36 points and San Antonio held Russell Westbrook scoreless in the fourth quarter for a victory over Oklahoma City.
Westbrook had 27 points, 14 assists and six rebounds in 34 minutes. LAKERS 120, NUGGETS 116: In Los Angeles, the Lakers rallied from a 97-90 deficit in the final 6:39 to defeat Denver. Nick Young led LA with 23 points and D’Angelo Russell had 22.
ROCKETS 105, KINGS 83: In Houston, Ryan Anderson had 25 points and 11 rebounds, and Eric Gordon added 17 points as Houston used a 25-11 second-quarter run to beat Sacramento.
WIZARDS 117, KNICKS 101: In Washington, Bradley Beal went shot for shot with Carmelo Anthony and then some as the Wizards blew out the Knicks to move into a tie for first place in the Southeast Division.
RAPTORS 108, PELICANS 106 (OT): In Toronto, Kyle Lowry had 33 points and 10 assists, and he made the tie-breaking jumper with 4.3 seconds left in overtime as Toronto outlasted New Orleans.
TRAIL BLAZERS 115, HORNETS 98: In Portland, Ore., Damian Lillard scored 27 points as Portland handed Charlotte its fifth straight loss.