As if the Cleveland Cavaliers losing Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals at home weren’t already bad enough, their efforts to regain control in the series in Game 4 were harmed when LeBron James got in foul trouble early on Tuesday.
James was called for four fouls in the first 18 minutes of Game 4. He was called for two shooting fouls on defensive, and two offensive fouls. One was called late in the first quarter and the next three were called over a six-minute span in the second quarter.
Here are the four fouls he picked up.
– Called for a shooting foul on Jonas Jerebko with 3:06 left in the first
– Called for an offensive foul 34 seconds into the start of the second quarter
– Called for a shooting foul on Marcus Smart with 8:55 in the second
– Called for a charge with 6:46 left in the second
LeBron has never had 4 fouls in the first half in any game in his career prior to tonight. pic.twitter.com/ZXvkH3MRrH
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 24, 2017
Nobody else was called for more than two fouls in the entire half, yet LeBron James was called for four. No other Cavalier was called for more than one foul in the entire first half.
James went to the bench with 6:46 left in the first half and did not return for the rest of the half. The Cavs trailed by 10 when he left the game, and they remained down 10 as the contest went to halftime. Game 4 marked the Celtics’ first time taking a lead into halftime.
This was the first time in his career that James was called for four fouls in the first half of a game. What happened in Game 4 was reminiscent of when James was called for five fouls in a 13-minute span during Game 5 of the 2014 Eastern Conference Finals.
