LeBron James has a tough day at the office
Cavs star clashes with opponents, misses key free throws
His stat line alone would suggest that LeBron James had himself a pretty darn good game on Sunday: 37 points, eight rebounds, four assists, three steals and three blocks.
The problem is that the Cleveland Cavaliers star attempted 35 shots from the field, missing 20 of those heaves, and uncharacteristically connected on just three of his 11 free throws.
Two of those misses from the charity stripe were rather untimely. James stepped to the line and missed both attempts with his team trailing the Houston Rockets 104-103 with 1.5 seconds remaining in overtime.
From there, the Rockets were able to put the game away when James Harden made a free throw and then intentionally missed his second try to let time expire.
Harden, who is garnering consideration for the MVP award, finished with 33 points, eight rebounds and five assists.
Earlier in the contest, James got mixed up with Patrick Beverley after bumping into him on a drive to the basket. Technical fouls were assessed to each player for a brief skirmish on the floor that upped the intensity level several notches.
The kicker on the afternoon, so to speak, was when Harden delivered a boot below the belt to James.
LeBron expressed frustration about his afternoon on Twitter.
Way to trick it off today Bron!
—@KingJames