LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers walked out of OKC with a convincing 115-92 win Sunday, but also got an earful from one ornery Thunder fan sitting courtside.
During a break in the action late in the first half, some lady screamed at LeBron to “suck it up” as he was arguing with a referee over a whistle.
JUST SUCK IT UP, LEBRON pic.twitter.com/oV9iIglRUg
— Deadspin (@Deadspin) February 21, 2016
James took it all in stride, and jokingly claimed that the woman put him in his place.
Per the Akron Beacon Journal:
This is the Kevin Love the Cavaliers always thought they were getting, but has rarely surfaced: Attacking, aggressive, dominant in the post and on the glass. Love played one of his finest games in a Cavs uniform Sunday, scoring 29 points and grabbing 11 rebounds and doing it all without making a 3-pointer. […] The Thunder kept switching on pick-and-rolls, leaving Kevin Durant to defend Love. He went right at Durant on those matchups and typically won. He shot 11 of 12 from the free-throw line and played so well he covered the Cavs’ problems in the backcourt.
The bigger problem, the one that has yet to be answered, is why he never seems able to play this way when Kyrie Irving is on the floor. Plenty of people within the organization are aware of the discrepancies, including the players, but no one yet has a solution. […] Numbers whiz John Schuhmann compiled the data after this game. Love is getting a significantly higher percentage of shots in the paint when Irving is off the floor and he’s turned in some of his best games without the All-Star point guard.
Irving left the game in the first quarter Sunday with flu-like symptoms and did not return. He was essentially a non-factor. Coach Ty Lue entered the day wanting to play straight up with Irving guarding Russell Westbrook and LeBron James guarding Kevin Durant. Within the game’s first couple of possessions, however, Irving switched off Westbrook and onto Dion Waiters. By the end of the first quarter, he was out of the game for good.
