Getty Images Suns forward Jae Crowder fouls Lakers star LeBron James.
LeBron James and Jae Crowder have gone at it during their first-round series and the Los Angeles Lakers star had some words for the Suns forward after a hard foul during Game 4.
James had a clear path to the basket for a dunk on the play after losing Crowder, but was grabbed by the shoulders to prevent him from taking a shot. James pushed Crowder — who was once a teammate of his in Cleveland — away and said, “Get the f–k off me.” In response, Crowder just playfully frowned as James walked away.
“Get the f–k off me.”
LeBron wasn’t feeling this tough foul by Crowder 👀 *NSFW*
Despite the act appearing to be a non-basketball play, it was called as just a common foul.
After being embarrassed by a grinning James in Game 3, Crowder stepped up for the Suns, finishing with a game-best plus-21.
LeBron’s smile as he’s about to toast Jae Crowder is priceless.
He also scored 17 points, including a dagger 3-pointer late with James complaining to the referee at the other end of the court.
“We’ve just been preaching poise. Playoff basketball may rattle you,” Crowder told reporters after the game. “You just have to stay even keeled.”
Crowder on ‘Dirty’ Narrative: That’s Their Opinion
Getty ImagesSuns forward Jae Crowder.
The Suns did anything but that during their Game 3 loss, with Crowder and teammate Devin Booker getting ejected. Crowder was tossed for talking trash, while Booker delivered a hard foul on Dennis Schroder.
Crowder pushed back against the narrative that they’re a “dirty” team.
“I don’t feel like we have a need to respond to it,” Crowder said. “They have an opinion, that’s their opinion, and that’s what it is.”
Crowder on the “Suns are a dirty team” narrative: “Nah, I don’t feel like we have a need to respond to it. They have an opinion, that’s their opinion, and that’s what it is.”
James finished the game with 25 points, 12 rebounds and 6 assists in 38 minutes. He was the only Lakers starter with a positive plus-minus (6).
Chris Paul Says He Almost Sat Out Game 4
Getty ImagesChris Paul of the Phoenix Suns.
The Suns got a big boost from Chris Paul looking like his old self. Paul scored 18 points and had 9 assists in the matchup, shaking off the shoulder injury that slowed him during the first three games.
Paul revealed in his on-court interview after the game that head coach Monty Williams was planning to bench him due to the injury. However, Paul — one of the most respected veterans in the game today — pushed back and it paid off.
“There’s been a lot going on,” Paul said. “Met with coach before the game and he said he was going to sit me tonight. I told him ‘hell nah.’ Just give me a couple minutes and see what I can do. God is good. I come from a praying family — my momma and my daddy all day prayed for me. This is just a game, people got a lot tougher things going on. But I love playing this game. It’s 2-2, still got a lot of work to do.”
Chris Paul says he and Head Coach Monty Williams met before the game and Williams told Chris he was going to sit him.
CP3’s response was “hell nah”, 18/9/3/3 in 31 minutes.
“We had a meeting of the minds and decided to trust the player in this situation. For me, as long as he’s not going to hurt himself further and it won’t hurt the team, we can come to a decision like we did today. I had to trust the player and trust the relationship from over the years. It was an emotional conversation.
“It came down to him looking me in the eyes and saying, ‘Trust me on this one coach. If I don’t look the way you want me to, take me out.'”
Game 5 is scheduled for Tuesday in Phoenix. For the Lakers, the big storyline will be the health of Anthony Davis, who suffered a groin injury in the first half of Game 4 that prevented him from playing the second half.
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