James critiques play after triple-double, win

WASHINGTON — 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," teammate Kevin Love said, "then sheesh!"

James finished with 20 points, 15 assists and 12 rebounds to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers past the Washington Wizards 106-99 on Sunday night for their 18th victory in 19 games, and then said afterward his choice of footwear was related to the game being played about a mile from President Donald Trump's White House.

"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 MVP 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," James said. "And my teammates did a great job bailing me out."

Love led Cleveland with 25 points and added nine rebounds. Jeff Green added 15 points, and Kyle Korver scored 11.

The last time these teams played, at Washington on Nov. 3, Cleveland won thanks to 57 points from James. This time, James was more of a facilitator.

"His IQ is the highest I've ever been around," Wizards coach Scott Brooks said. "Just the way he sees the floor."

Bradley Beal led Washington with 27 points, and John Wall had 15 points, 10 rebounds and six assists.

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.