Richard Jefferson says LeBron James’ Game 3 dud was due to illness

The basketball world found themselves in shock when the Isaiah Thomas-less Boston Celtics defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers by a score of 111-108 in Game 3 on Sunday night. That shock was compounded by the poor play of LeBron James, who went 4-of-13 from the field with only 11 points on the night.

It was, by far, one of the worst playoff performances for James in his entire career. But as it turns out, he may have a legitimate excuse for essentially laying an egg.

Following the Cavaliers’ 112-99 rebound victory on Tuesday night, Richard Jefferson revealed that James had been suffering from an illness during Sunday’s game.

“I know he won’t talk about it, so I’ll give my big guy a shout. Deron Williams missed shootaround this morning because he had like a little bug, really lethargic, had no energy. And I think that’s what ‘Bron had,” Jefferson said on FOX Sports Ohio (via the New York Daily News). “And sometimes these little bugs can go around … he was like, when Deron didn’t show up to shoot around, it kind of started clicking in his head. Because for him it was more of like, ‘I don’t know why I was so lethargic, why I had no energy, I had nothing.’ And so, these little things happen. It was no panic. Look, he was lethargic, they hit a bunch of tough shots, if Marcus Smart doesn’t go 7-for-10 from three, then we’re not even talking about it.”

James played substantially better in Game 4, going 15-of-27 from the field with 34 points, five rebounds, six assists and a block. He did, however, miss a wide open dunk that became the subject of the night on social media.

The Cavaliers and Celtics will meet again on Thursday night in Game 5. If James and Cleveland walk away victorious, they will meet the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals for the third consecutive season.