LeBron James may have had a poor Game 3 in Cleveland on Sunday night, but Brad Stevens isn’t about to criticize the 4-time MVP for the dud.
James scored 11 points, added 6 rebounds and 6 assists in 45 minutes for easily his worst game of the postseason, and also his lowest-scoring game of the season. Stevens, Boston’s head coach, was asked about LeBron after the game and refused to gloat about holding the star to a low-scoring game.
Celtics' Brad Stevens on LeBron James: "He's the best player in the world. I'm not going to criticize him one bit." pic.twitter.com/LvDDqGPEta
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) May 22, 2017
It seemed as if James took a backseat after the Cavs got out to a 20-point third quarter lead. And when the game was close, he also seemed to try and let his teammates do more of the work in a confidence-building exercise. He was hardly active over the final 16 minutes.
Not what you'd expect from The King. pic.twitter.com/dHbYyvc5TN
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) May 22, 2017
He took responsibility for his lackluster show.
LeBron: My teammates did a great job building a lead, but me personally, I didn’t have it. That’s what I’ve got to say about my performance.
— Jared Weiss (@JaredWeissNBA) May 22, 2017
Things didn’t work out for the Cavs in Game 3, but this loss may help them re-focus for the remainder of the playoffs.
